WikimediaFlying a plane must be a pretty stressful job, what with the long hours, the ever increasing security and the difficulty involved in flying but now they have to contend with a new aerial menace, drones.
On Sunday, a British Airways pilot claims he saw a drone fly straight in front of his plane as he brought it in for a landing at Heathrow Airport. If this is true it would be the first reported case of a drone hitting the plane of a major airline, Mashable reports.
PixabayThe incident reportedly happened at 12:50pm when some moron flew his drone into the path of the Airbus A320. The plane was carrying 132 passengers and five crew, and was flying from Geneva, Switzerland to Heathrow.
Luckily, although it was confirmed that the drone had collided with the plane, there was no damage done and the authorities who inspected the aircraft cleared it to continue flying.
WikimediaA Metropolitan Police spokesman told the Telegraph that the pilot has reported the incident to police.
They said:
It transpired that an object, believed to be a drone, had struck the front of the aircraft. No arrests have been made and inquiries continue. Aviation police based at Heathrow investigate.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the body that controls drones, has strict rules related to using drones in the UK.
PixabayUnsurprisingly drones aren’t allowed to be flown near airports or aircraft for obvious reasons and they should also remain below a height of 400 feet (121 metres) and within eyesight at all times.
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t fly a done into the path of an oncoming plane…
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.