A DRONE nearly took out a PLANE and caused a potentially fatal horror crash when it was flown within just 10 feet of a packed British Airways flight in the pitch black night sky.
Hundreds of people were on board the BA flight when the danger drone nearly caused a potentially fatal collision.
Crews were only able to spot the craft after it was caught in the landing lights of the Boeing 777 as it flew over Heathrow.
The near miss happened moments after the flight had taken off from Heathrow and reached 6,000 feet.
Investigators said: “The First Officer and Captain both saw a bright light pass quickly, and very close to the aircraft, down the left side”.
“There was no prior indication or warning of the object, nor would any seem to have been possible.”
According to a new report, the drone was so close to the jet that only "providence" prevented a crash.
The near-miss, at 7.24am on November 8 last year, is thought to be the first time air traffic controllers have been alerted to a near-miss at night.
Categorised as a Class A risk - the highest category short of an actual collision - the incident has highlighted the increase risk of danger caused by drones, currently at a record high.
The incident came to light in a report which revealed a total of 23 major incidents have been investigated in just six months between April and October.
Other horror incidents include a plane landing at London City Airport which was forced to change its approach after a drone flew within a wingspan of one landing aircraft on December 6.
In November, a drone operator tried to get head-on video footage of an Airbus 321 landing at Gatwick.
The remote controlled drone was only spotted when the jet was 30ft from touchdown, a critical point of the flight.
Classing it as a category A risk, shocked officials said it was “incredulous” at the operator’s action.
(culled from www.express.co.uk)
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