April 18, 2016

Drone hits a British Airways plane arriving at Heathrow airport in London

A British Airways jet flying from Geneva is believed to have been struck by a drone on its way to Heathrow Airport in London, UK.

By Lopamudra Roy

A British Airways jet flying from Geneva is believed to have been struck by a drone on its way to Heathrow Airport in London, UK.

According to the London Metropolitan Police, the pilot of Flight 727 reported a suspected unmanned aircraft system (UAS) had collided against the front of the Airbus A320.

The aircraft’s 132 passengers and five crew members were reported safe, cited Bloomberg.

The incident adds to rising concerns regarding the potential hazard posed by drones.

"Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight."

The British Airways flight was struck at a height of about 1,700ft while flying over the Richmond Park area in southwest London, reported the BBC.

A unit of International Airlines Group (IAG), British Airways was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight."

UAS owners that break drone flying regulations could face serious penalties including imprisonment, stated the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

According to the London police, no arrests have been made so far.

In 2015, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported 1,200 drone-related incidents, five times the number in 2014.