Passenger plane in near miss with drone over Birmingham primary school
The plane's pilot saw the drone hovering at the same altitude as the passenger aircraft came in to land in Birmingham.
Saturday 28 January 2017 06:38, UK
A passenger plane聽was in a near miss with a drone just 500ft above a primary school, an official report has revealed.
The airliner was coming in to land at Birmingham Airport when the pilot spotted the device hovering at the same altitude.
The DH8 turboprop aircraft was estimated to be around 1600ft from the drone, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) said.
Police were informed of the incident - on 7 September last year - but were unable to locate the drone or its operator.
Staff at the school were alerted about the presence of the drone, the report said.
It was unclear how many passengers were on the plane.
The near miss report concluded: "The drone operator ... had flown the drone into conflict and had endangered the DH8 and its passengers."
It was one of seven near misses between aircraft and drones in the latest monthly UKAB report.
It brings the total over the past 12 months to 60.
Civil Aviation Authority rules state that drones must not be flown above 400ft or near airports or airfields.
Former British Airways pilot Steve Landells has warned that a drone hitting a plane could result in an uncontrolled engine failure.
Ministers are considering mandatory registration for new drones in a bid to crack down on reckless users.
In a separate incident, also reported by UKAB, two fighter jets passed within 300ft of each other.
The near miss, involving a Tornado and a Typhoon, happened near Lossiemouth in Moray on the morning of 17 August last year.