The UK’s scariest drone near misses – from major fright over London to a Royal’s dice with tragedy
AS THE drone craze continues to spread across the UK, they are leaving a wobbly trail of almost disaster.
Incidences of near misses with drones are on the rise and authorities are being forced to clamp down heavily on their use.
Numerous cases have been recorded where the flying gadgets have come dangerously close to passenger planes, with Gatwick Airport even closing an entire runaway after a drone was spotted in the airspace around the strip.
There were at least 13 near misses with passenger planes at London Airports in 2016, with drone pilots now facing potential jail time if they are caught flying their gadgets near runways.
These are some of the major cases of drone near misses in the UK.
Gatwick Airport closes runway (July 2017)
At least four flights were diverted when a runway was forcibly shut after a drone sighting near Gatwick Aiport in July.
Two separate reports identified drones in the area around 6pm, causing a number of flights to re-route their landing.
Three incoming EasyJet flights were sent to other airports, while British Airways sent one of its planes to Bournemouth.
Closest call so far at John Lennon Airport (April 2017)
The closest reported near miss occurred in April 2017 with a passenger plane coming in to land at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport.
Flying at 2,500ft, the flying machine allegedly came within a metre of the Airbus A319's wing tip as it descended.
A report from the UK Airprox Board claimed that it was "down to luck" that a collision didn't occur.
RAF Chinnook within half a second of disaster (November 2016)
An RAF helicopter came within a fraction of a second of colliding with a model plane just over Bridgwater, Somerset.
The Chinook was reportedly flying at 100ft at a speed of close to 140mph.
One of the helicopter's two pilots allegedly took control of the aircraft and steered it off course, after he spotted the 3ft-long white object flying just 30ft from them.
The incident was rated a Category A, meaning there was a serious risk of collision.
Danger above East Midlands airport (October 2016)
A dangerous situation was made significantly worse in October 2016 when a Boeing 747 went in to land on a flooded runway at East Midlands Airport.
The passenger aircraft was descending at a height of 6,000ft during a bad storm when a three-foot-long drone flew into its path.
Passing less than 100ft from the plane, the red and black drone posed a serious safety risk.
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Airbus A320 forced to watch as drone shoots past (August 2016)
A helpless pilot was forced to watch on as a drone whizzed past the right wing of his plane as it approached Heathrow Airport.
The pilot claimed he had no time to take evasive action as the drone appeared almost out of nowhere while flying at 11,000ft.
At its closest point, the drone was thought to have come within 60ft of the passenger plane.
Drone nearly hits Prince William's helicopter (August 2016)
A drone came close to causing royal tragedy when it flew within feet of a East Anglia Air Ambulance helicopter that is regularly piloted by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William.
Carrying two pilots and three medical staff, the aircraft was flying at 1,900ft when a drone was spotted less than 100ft away in their flight path.
William was not on board the helicopter at the time.
The operator of the drone was never traced, despite his craft being flown well above the legal limit.
The Shard narrowly dodges catastrophe (July 2016)
A Category A incident involving a passenger jet and a drone occurred over the nation's capital in mid 2016, as an Airbus 320 was making its final approach to Heathrow.
The plane was flying over The Shard when it came into contact with a small black drone.
The gadget reportedly hovered over the right wing as the pilot watched on from the flight deck window.
It was the third near miss incident in three days involving drones and planes approaching Heathrow.
