A British Airways flight was struck by what is thought to have been a drone as the aircraft prepared to land at Heathrow Airport.
An investigation has been launched after an object hit the front of the airline's G-EUYP airbus shortly before it landed at Heathrow's Terminal 5 at 12.31pm.
British Airways confirmed to MailOnline that flight BA727 from Geneva in Switzerland was struck as it made its final approach over London with 132 passengers and five crew on board.
The airline said the aircraft was examined by engineers and cleared for its next flight following the incident.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'A pilot on an inbound flight into Heathrow Airport from Geneva reported to police that he believed a drone had struck the aircraft.
'It transpired that an object, believed to be a drone, had struck the front of the aircraft.
The spokesperson added that no arrests had yet been made and the incident is currently being investigated by aviation police.
A British Airways spokesman said: 'Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight.
'Safety and security are always our first priority and we will give the police every assistance with their investigation.'
The strike is the latest in a string of incidents involving drones and aircraft in UK airspace.
A report last month by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) found there were 23 near misses between drones and aircraft in the six months between April and October last year.
They included one on September 22, when a Boeing 777 that had just taken off reported that a drone narrowly passed down the right hand side of the airliner.
Investigators concluded that the drone was at the same height and within 25 metres of the jet.
A report was made to police but the drone operator was not traced.
Days later, on September 30, a drone was flown within a few metres of an Airbus A319 landing at Heathrow. The pilot told the UKAB the drone may have been just 20 feet (six metres) above and 25 yards (23 metres) to the left when it passed by the aircraft.
The jet was flying at an altitude of 500 feet and was on the final approach to the west London airport when the drone was spotted.
Steve Landells, flight safety specialist at the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), said: 'Frankly it was only a matter of time before we had a drone strike given the huge numbers being flown around by amateurs who don't understand the risks and the rules.
'It appears that no serious damage was done on this occasion, but what is clear is that while most drones are flown safely, sensibly and within the limits of the law, much more education of drone users and enforcement of the rules is needed to ensure our skies remain safe from this threat.'
There have been several instances of drones having near misses with commercial flights abroad.
An Air France Airbus A320 jet narrowly avoided colliding with a drone while descending for an approach to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in February.
The aircraft had been operating a service from Barcelona on February 19 and was flying at 5,500ft when the co-pilot saw the drone.
He immediately disengaged the autopilot and carried out an evasive manoeuvre while informing the captain of the drone's presence, the French aviation investigation agency BEA said at the time.
Elsewhere, the pilot of a Lufthansa passenger jumbo jet nearly collided with a recreational drone in the US this month.
The plane was on its landing approach to Los Angeles International Airport when the incident happened, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
There are about 2.5 million drones in the US and not one has collided with a piloted aircraft – yet.
With nearly 600 close-calls reported from August 2015 to January 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration worries it is only a matter of time before there are disastrous incidents.
This data shows an urgency for effective anti-drone systems to deal with rogue UAVs, as more unmanned vehicles take the sky.
(culled from www.dailymail.co.uk)
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