DRONE DISASTER DODGED Major air disaster narrowly averted over London after drone nearly collides with passenger plane near The Shard

A MAJOR air disaster was narrowly avoided over London when a drone came within a whisker of colliding with a passenger jet near The Shard.

The Airbus 320, with around 165 passengers on board, was making a final approach to Heathrow over central London when the near miss occurred.

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The Airbus 320, with around 165 passengers on board, was making a final approach to Heathrow

The plane was just a couple of hundred yards east of the 1016ft-high skyscraper, whose 95 storeys make it the tallest building in western Europe.

The pilot spotted the black drone through the flight deck window and the crew watched as the object – 20in across – hovered over the right wing.

Only good luck prevented a collision which could have caused a catastrophe, said a report.

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The plane was just a couple of hundred yards east of the 1016ft-high skyscraper

It was the third drone near miss in consecutive days involving airliners coming in to land at Heathrow.

The day before an Airbus A319 pilot saw a large drone pass around 100 yards away down the left hand side of his aircraft and appeared to be filming aeroplanes arriving at the airport.

And the day before that, an A320 pilot saw a drone fly within 50ft of his wing tip as he was coming in to land and investigators said it endangered the jet and the people aboard.

Investigators at the UK Airprox Board, which examines near misses in British airspace, said the Shard case at 12.45pm on July 18 was “a very near miss”.

The report said: “The Board considered that the pilot’s estimate of separation, allied to his overall account of the incident, portrayed a situation where a collision had only been narrowly avoided and chance had played a major part”.

The incident was serious enough to receive a Category A rating – the highest level of risk short of an actual collision.

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It was the third drone near miss in consecutive days involving airliners coming in to land at Heathrow

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The incident was serious enough to receive a Category A rating – the highest level of risk short of an actual collision

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At the time, the aircraft was descending through 4,900ft at 180knots - about 200mph - and the drone reached its closest point of approach just over 200 yards east of the building.

The operators of the drones in all three incidents could not be traced.

In the UK aviation laws ban drones from flying above 400ft but they are becoming an increasing risk to planes as some user ignore the rules.

Earlier this year one enthusiast in the Netherland flew his drone to 11,000ft - or 2.11 miles.