A Virgin Atlantic plane carrying up to 264 passengers came within 50ft of smashing into ‘a large black drone’ just five minutes after taking off from Heathrow, a report has revealed.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was flying at more than 330mph at the start of its flight to New York when the illegally flown drone suddenly loomed into view.
The pilot told air traffic controllers that the device passed just 50ft above the aircraft when it was at a height of 9,500ft at 12.55pm on September 12 this year.
The close call happened just north of Woodley near Reading, Berkshire, as the plane was climbing to its cruising altitude, according to a report by the UK Airprox Board.
The Board which assesses near misses in UK airspace described it as a Category A incident where there was a serious risk of a collision.
Aviation experts have repeatedly warned in recent years of the dangers of drones hitting a cockpit or being sucked into a jet engine.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (stock image) was flying at more than 330mph at the start of its flight to New York when the illegally flown drone suddenly loomed into view
The report said that police were informed of the sighting, but it is believed that the operator of the drone was never located.
If they had been caught and convicted, they could have been jailed for up to five years for endangering an aircraft.
The drone was being flown at more than 23 times the normal legal height for the devices in the UK which is just 400ft.
It is believed that the operator may have deliberately flown in the flight path of jets departing Heathrow to try and get dramatic video footage of them passing by.
Software built into drones normally restricts them from flying above the legal height, but it can be over-ridden with patches purchased on the internet.
Drone operators can also fit extra batteries to their devices to allow them to reach greater heights without running out of power.
The report said the pilot was flying in clear visibility when ‘they saw a large black drone ahead which passed directly above the aircraft’.
The device did not trigger the plane’s traffic collision avoidance system, according to the report.
The pilot who rated it as a medium risk of collision reported the sighting to air traffic controllers who then informed police.
The Virgin Atlantic plane came within 50ft of smashing into ‘a large black drone’ just five minutes after taking off from Heathrow (stock image)
The plane was carrying up to 264 passengers (a stock image of inside the plane)
Other aircraft passing through the area were warned of the drone sighting, and the pilot gave a direct report to police on landing.
The report concluded: ‘Analysis of the radar by Safety Investigations indicated that there were no associated primary or secondary contacts associated with the drone report, visible on radar at the approximate time of the event.
‘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.
‘The Board considered that the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed.’
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: ‘We’re aware of reports of a drone flying near our flight, the VS47, travelling from London Heathrow to New York on 12 September 2023.
‘The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our number one priority and we treat incidents such as this incredibly seriously.
‘The pilots immediately reported the incident to Air Traffic Control in line with our procedures and our teams have subsequently informed the relevant safety authorities.’