Drone flies close to a passenger jet at Heathrow

A drone was flown within a few metres of a passenger jet landing at Heathrow Airport, continuing a recent spate of near-misses.

The pilot of the Airbus A319 said the drone may have been just 20 feet above and 25 yards to the left when it passed by the aircraft.

He told the UK Airprox Board that it was not possible to take avoiding action and the incident was put in the most serious risk category.

The jet was flying at an altitude of 500 feet and was on the final approach to the west London airport on September 30 when the drone was spotted.

Officials said that the drone was flown against Civil Aviation Authority regulations because it did not have permission to be above 400 feet within the Heathrow CTR control zone.

The drone had not shown up on radars.