Airbus A380 in near miss with drone latest ‘airprox’ reports reveal.

A drone came within 80 metres of hitting an Airbus A380 ‘Superjumbo’ seconds after departing London’s Heathrow Airport.

The near miss happened in October however details of the incident emerged yesterday Friday March 25, in a report published by the UK Airprox Board.

The pilot of the A380, believed to be an Emirates flight to Dubai carrying over 500 passengers and crew, reported seeing a large object he described was “unusual in design and size” flying at the same altitude as his plane, around 2000ft.

The object was described as being “greyish-white” and around 2 metres in length, it passed within 70 metres of the A380 along the port side.

A report of the incident was made to the police, the drone and its pilot could not be traced and the incident did not show up on air traffic control radars.

Airprox board officials concluded the object was likely to be a drone flown using first-person view, where an on-board camera is fed wirelessly to video goggles or a monitor.

The drone had been flown against Civil Aviation Authority regulations because it did not have permission to be above 400 feet within the Heathrow airspace officials said, they also concluded the safety of the jet had been compromised and classed the incident as a category B ‘Safety not assured: aircraft proximity in which the safety of the aircraft may have been compromised’

Last week a drone came within 200 feet of hitting a A380 near Los Angeles International Airport.
The pilot of a Lufthansa jet approaching the airport reported that a drone passed about 40 metres overhead, the plane was flying at 5,000 feet and was about 14 miles east of the airport.

Pilots say a spate of serious near misses involving drones highlights the need for urgent action to integrate them in to airspace safely and prevent a collision with other aircraft.

In December the UK Proximity Board looked at 7 incidents involving drones: 4 of which were classed as the most serious category A, where a serious risk of collision existed, a further 4 were reported last month.

Pilots say they welcome the growth in drone technology and can see important applications for them commercially and recreationally, but a collision with a commercial airliner or helicopter could be catastrophic.

Pilots say they want technology to stop drones from being able to fly in areas where they could meet commercial traffic to be routinely fitted to the devices.