'Drone' hits British Airways plane approaching Heathrow Airport

[webfact]

'Drone' hits British Airways plane approaching Heathrow Airport

LONDON: -- A plane approaching Heathrow Airport is believed to have hit a drone before it landed safely, the Metropolitan Police has said.

The British Airways flight from Geneva was hit as it approached the London airport at about 12:50 BST with 132 passengers and five crew on board.

After landing, the pilot reported an object - believed to be a drone - had struck the front of the Airbus A320.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36067591


-- BBC 2016-04-18

[MaiChai]

Not surprising; if you live in the London Borough of Hounslow you probably know Heathrow Airport is next door. London needs a new airport that is outside London! But as usual the politians drag their feet and nothing ever happens.

[shirtless]

Expect many more incidents ,

[sirineou]

"the pilot reported an object - believed to be a drone - had struck the front of the Airbus A320. "

The operative phrase here is "believed to be a drone"

it could had being a bird, or anything else. Not that it could not had being a drone, but........

[Mosha]

"the pilot reported an object - believed to be a drone - had struck the front of the Airbus A320. "

The operative phrase here is "believed to be a drone"

it could had being a bird, or anything else. Not that it could not had being a drone, but........

I think a pilot would no a bird strike.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[Mosha]

Flying drones and shining strong lasers near airport approach paths, should be treated like terrorism.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[ezzra]

This is not a laughing matter here, this could be the next tool for a domestic terrorist to hit an airliner

from a far, some drones can be easily modified to carry explosives on them and it doesn't take

much to cause an airliner great damage or even down it if it's a small plane,,,, these drones business

should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

[NongKhaiKid]

This is not a laughing matter here, this could be the next tool for a domestic terrorist to hit an airliner

from a far, some drones can be easily modified to carry explosives on them and it doesn't take

much to cause an airliner great damage or even down it if it's a small plane,,,, these drones business

should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

Apart from the very obvious terrorism aspect there's also a danger it may become a new ' game ' for some of seeing how close to an aircraft they can fly their drone and if there's a camera on board so much the better.

It doesn't take much for things to become the latest fad these days.

[sirineou]

Again, not that it could not had being a drone, but I wonder what made the pilot believe that it was a drone. I read the whole article and it did not mentioned.

is there an other article with more info? Link please

If indeed it was a drone, I wonder how one defends against such thing.

[hawker9000]

This is not a laughing matter here, this could be the next tool for a domestic terrorist to hit an airliner

from a far, some drones can be easily modified to carry explosives on them and it doesn't take

much to cause an airliner great damage or even down it if it's a small plane,,,, these drones business

should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

I agree about the hazard, but maybe not as easy as you think. 'Won't be long before you can "print" a drone on a 3d printer (if you can't already do it) ...

It's probably a fool's errand to go after the "drones". They don't launch themselves. Terrorism will never be eliminated by trying to remove all the possible tools & devices & materials from the evil-doer's recipe book. Things have changed a lot since the 19th century. Nor can it be dealt with by casting huge fishing nets that catch everybody but the bad guys who will always know how and have the means to evade them. Law enforcement has to up its game and quit trying to fall back on simply cancelling everybody's rights. One place to start is to stop confusing terrorists with bank robbers and rapists. They're at war with us! Put them in detention centers and treat them like POWs. If a military court (not a civilian court that has no standing or expertise to adjudicate military crimes) or commission finds them guilty of treason or espionage, execute them.

[pitrevie]

Its lucky Scalia has gone I am sure he would pushing that this is covered by the 2nd amendment so long as its a redneck that wants to have them.

[LivinLOS]

These drones business should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

Spoken like someone with no idea how advanced drone experimentation is actually working..

Much of the advanced stuff, not DJI camera toys, are on open source hardware and software.. Tools like APM / Pixhawk and ground stations like Mission planner or Q Ground Control.

Open source is out in the wild, once the genie is out of the bottle you dont make that information go away. Theres no central factory to go and 'stop'..

[LivinLOS]

This is not a laughing matter here, this could be the next tool for a domestic terrorist to hit an airliner

from a far, some drones can be easily modified to carry explosives on them and it doesn't take

much to cause an airliner great damage or even down it if it's a small plane,,,, these drones business

should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

I agree about the hazard, but maybe not as easy as you think. 'Won't be long before you can "print" a drone on a 3d printer (if you can't already do it) ...

It's probably a fool's errand to go after the "drones". They don't launch themselves. Terrorism will never be eliminated by trying to remove all the possible tools & devices & materials from the evil-doer's recipe book. Things have changed a lot since the 19th century. Nor can it be dealt with by casting huge fishing nets that catch everybody but the bad guys who will always know how and have the means to evade them. Law enforcement has to up its game and quit trying to fall back on simply cancelling everybody's rights. One place to start is to stop confusing terrorists with bank robbers and rapists. They're at war with us! Put them in detention centers and treat them like POWs. If a military court (not a civilian court that has no standing or expertise to adjudicate military crimes) or commission finds them guilty of treason or espionage, execute them.

^^^ This.

[smedly]

Flying drones and shining strong lasers near airport approach paths, should be treated like terrorism.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

These drones have the ability to carry explosives

[Mosha]

For those who think it's funny. The person flying this, if it's a drone. Faces a 5 year sentence.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[Daffy D]

Maybe I'm too much from the old school and not in line with modern thinking but anyone flying a drone that would endanger an aircraft should be charged with attempted murder of the number of passengers and set to high security jail for at least 30 years.

Hope we don't have to wait for some kid trying to impress his friends bringing down a jumbo before this matter is treated really seriously.

[Mosha]

BBC news world earlier were saying that, the Dutch were talking about training eagles to bring down drones.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[ThaiKneeTim]

These brain dead people think they're having a laugh, and unable to foresee tragic circumstances.

A few years ago, when I lived in Merseyside, UK, a young lad was having a laugh dropping large lumps of concrete off a pedestrian bridge over a main road. A man died as a result, the 15 year old lad was found and arrested by police and received a custodial sentence. But it all seemed a bit of a laugh... until the worst happened!

Just how the police, who are under resources as it is, will enforce a no fly zone around an airport is anybody's guess, they can't even stop uninsured, unlicensed, kids riding motorbikes!

The Dutch have a solution, they've trained birds of prey to bring down drones.

[GinBoy2]

I was one of the few voices that applauded when the FAA required mandatory registration of drones in the US.

I've flown model aircraft, fixed wing & helicopters since I was a teenager, and I cant (maybe someone with the help of google will correct me) remember in all that time an incident of a model aircraft and a commercial airliner...maybe because there was regulation!

Drones have come on the scene so quickly as the technology has evolved, I think regulators everywhere are struggling to catch up.

The plus' and minus' of drones is their ease to fly one. Back in the day, you joined a club and were taught to fly. With a drone you pick it up at Best Buy (or the UK equivalent, insert your nation of choice) at 10am, 11am you have it whipping through the sky without a care in the world.

I know the registration system in the US isn't perfect, but hopefully just the 'threat' that you drone if involved in a incident can be traced back to you,is a start!

[jaiyen]

Here in Perth a few years ago a bloke flew a drone close to planes at Perth Airport. He got caught and fined A$30,000 !!! CASA are very hot around here.

[LivinLOS]

Maybe I'm too much from the old school and not in line with modern thinking but anyone flying a drone that would endanger an aircraft should be charged with attempted murder of the number of passengers and set to high security jail for at least 30 years.

Hope we don't have to wait for some kid trying to impress his friends bringing down a jumbo before this matter is treated really seriously.

On the understanding, or perhaps even ability to prove.. There was malice of forethought..

If there was a loss of control, a flyaway, a comms link error.. The list goes on.. It becomes negligence or accidental.

[Mosha]

Maybe I'm too much from the old school and not in line with modern thinking but anyone flying a drone that would endanger an aircraft should be charged with attempted murder of the number of passengers and set to high security jail for at least 30 years.

Hope we don't have to wait for some kid trying to impress his friends bringing down a jumbo before this matter is treated really seriously.

On the understanding, or perhaps even ability to prove.. There was malice of forethought..

If there was a loss of control, a flyaway, a comms link error.. The list goes on.. It becomes negligence or accidental.

He/she should not have been flying a drone near an airport or above 400'. It's illegal. The former can get you locked up for 5 years.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[Basil B]

although the damage was reported as minor, if they ever were to find the person flying it, the bill to replace the nose cone could make the $160,000 cost of a nose cone for a F1 car look like pea nuts in comparison.

[balo]

It could also have been a small UFO from outer space , you just never know these days....

Schoolboy snaps best ever UFO PROVES aliens on Earth in flying-saucer

[Wilsonandson]

This is not a laughing matter here, this could be the next tool for a domestic terrorist to hit an airliner

from a far, some drones can be easily modified to carry explosives on them and it doesn't take

much to cause an airliner great damage or even down it if it's a small plane,,,, these drones business

should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

What about remote control helicopters, a child's catapult, a cricket ball, a diet coke and menthos rocket, a pigeon even a dog?

What needs to happen is the banning of all web material which shows you how to build a bomb. Restrictions on some products that could be used to make bombs. Etc..

But at the end of the day, you can't stop everyone, so maybe social media and net neighbourhood watch schemes could try to weed out the suspicious. The good news is that most countries have mass multi surveillance systems that can track what you buy at the hardware store, who you went to visit, how long you were there, read all your personal emails, social media. Open up your camera on your device and record you even when your phone is switched off. Pick you up on CCTV, you name it. Of course your weeded out by certain criteria. No ones watching you now, your not important, they use it to catch terrorists. Thailand last year installed mass S. Systems. And you all brag that your using a proxy so no one can see what I do. Did you get your proxy from google? Or you have ssh tunnel. They can see right through that. If you ain't up on c++ programming you've got little but no hope of hiding sh1t. Not that your interesting, cause of course they just want terrorists, right!

So ban the drone toys and that will make everyone feel good inside. A dog carrying a grenade could knock out a plane.

[Jonmarleesco]

Not surprising; if you live in the London Borough of Hounslow you probably know Heathrow Airport is next door. London needs a new airport that is outside London! But as usual the politians drag their feet and nothing ever happens.

Regardless, drones are a damned nuisance.

[hawker9000]

Not surprising; if you live in the London Borough of Hounslow you probably know Heathrow Airport is next door. London needs a new airport that is outside London! But as usual the politians drag their feet and nothing ever happens.

Regardless, drones are a damned nuisance.

No argument. But they ARE here to stay. So somebody needs to get busy trying to figure out how to keep them away from aircraft, preferably without putting electronic dog collars on ALL of us...

[Mosha]

Not surprising; if you live in the London Borough of Hounslow you probably know Heathrow Airport is next door. London needs a new airport that is outside London! But as usual the politians drag their feet and nothing ever happens.

Regardless, drones are a damned nuisance.

London had an airport that was in the countryside. It was called Heathrow.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[mike324]

This is not a laughing matter here, this could be the next tool for a domestic terrorist to hit an airliner

from a far, some drones can be easily modified to carry explosives on them and it doesn't take

much to cause an airliner great damage or even down it if it's a small plane,,,, these drones business

should be nipped in the bud right now before a catastrophe hits......

It is quiet scary to see what drones are capable in terms of placing explosives such as C4. Drones are easy to fly, and there are ones out there (DJI brands) where you simply tap an object on your screen and drone will follow it, the flyer can then disengage auto pilot and put full throttle and let the drone ram the object. Its so easy to fly barely any training is needed.

[jerojero]

"the pilot reported an object - believed to be a drone - had struck the front of the Airbus A320. "

The operative phrase here is "believed to be a drone"

it could had being a bird, or anything else. Not that it could not had being a drone, but........

I think a pilot would no a bird strike.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

Landing at say 200 kms per hour, pretty hard to see a small object up front, unless it smacked right into the cockpit front window!