The British Airways flight from Geneva landed safely after a pilot reported an object had struck the front of the aircraft, an Airbus A320, on Sunday.
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A British Airways passenger aircraft was hit by what most likely was a drone on Sunday as it prepared to land at Britain’s Heathrow Airport, police said.
The plane landed safely and no passengers were hurt.
A suspected drone hit a plane on arrival from Geneva to Heathrow airport in the United Kingdom.
No arrests have been made and inquiries are continuing.
A BA spokesman said that engineers checked the aircraft on landing and cleared it to go back into service for its next scheduled flight.
‘Safety and security are always our first priority and we will give the police every assistance with their investigation’.
Aviation police based at Heathrow have launched an investigation.
In the six-month period from last August to January, the FAA received 583 reports of pilots spotting unmanned aircraft, according to the agency’s latest release of data.
A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said it was “totally unacceptable” to fly drones – which are generally used to capture aerial film or photographs – close to airports.
The object was later found to be a drone. “Please be aware of the rules before you start flying a drone”.
Drone operators can be hard to trace. Those with cameras fitted should also be kept 50m from people, vehicles, buildings and other structures.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration does not allow any drone or model airplane within 5 miles of an airport or to fly above 400 feet.
It anticipated receiving a report from BA on the incident within 96 hours.
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Days later, on September 30, a drone was flown within a few metres of an Airbus A319 landing at Heathrow.
