Drone warning after near-miss with passenger plane over Prestwick
A drone was involved in a near-miss with a passenger plane over a Scottish airport, it has emerged.
The incident at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on May 8 is now under investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The watchdog recorded six near-misses involving drones at UK airports between May 2014 and March 2015 and warned that a mid-air collision is growing “increasingly likely” as they become more popular.
It said warned that a crash involving a drone could have “extremely serious consequences”.
A CAA spokesman said: “With an increase in popularity of drones for both recreational and commercial use the CAA is warning people operating them to exercise caution.
“One of the more serious near-misses in the last year involved a drone coming within 20ft of an incoming passenger plane at Heathrow and this amongst other incidents rang alarm bells over the possibility of drones flying into flight paths.”
The CAA said drone pilots must avoid flying within 500ft metres of a congested area and 164ft of a person, vehicle or structure. It also urged operators to avoid airports and other aircraft.
