An easyJet plane came within 10 feet of a drone and pilots “thought they heard a thud”, an official report has found.
The Airbus A320 was flying from Gatwick to the Greek island of Rhodes, when at about 16,000 feet in the London air traffic control area, pilots said an “unidentified flying object” was “spotted coming towards them”, the UK Airprox Board said.
A drone is limited to 400 feet.
The object was described as black and spherical in shape. It was also large enough to enable the pilots to “make out details of a framed structure at its base”.
The pilots on board the 5 July flight reported a “very close encounter with a drone” and said it had gone “directly underneath the aircraft”.
Another report, from National Air Traffic Services, quoted what had been relayed from the flight deck.
One pilot said: “We very nearly just hit a drone. We’re talking less than 10 feet.”
They added: “We don’t think we’ve hit it. There was a bit of a thud, we’ll come back to you.”
Once the plane had reached its destination, the captain provided a further update, saying: “I can confirm we did not hit the drone.
“It passed very close underneath the aircraft, but the thud the first officer heard was likely from the cabin.
“I completed a walk around and confirmed no damage and no maintenance action was required.”
Airprox rated the report as Category A, meaning there was a risk of a collision.
It said: “In the board’s opinion the reported altitude and/or description of the object were sufficient to indicate that it could have been a drone.”
It added that the pilot’s account showed a “definite risk of collision had existed”.
TCAS – the Traffic Collision Avoidance System – did not detect anything.
The airline said in a statement: “We are aware of the report and will always fully support any investigation.
“Safety is always easyJet’s highest priority and our flight crew acted in accordance with our standard operating procedures to ensure the safety of the flight was not compromised.”
