Thu, Mar 01, 2018
Two Aircraft Missed Colliding By About 15 Feet, Authorities Say
A drone being flown in the area around Dunstable airport northwest of London nearly collided with a glider on approach to the airport, according to the U.K. Airprox board.
According to the report, the pilot of an ASK21 glider told the board that he was performing a standard circuit at Dunstable. The weather was grey and overcast with a rain front approaching from the west. A drone was encountered at 550ft just prior to the final turn for approach. The drone was 20-50 meters (65-165 feet) in front of the nose of the glider and a few meters below. It was grey in colour and therefore difficult to see in the overcast weather against a backdrop of Dunstable town. It passed rapidly to the right of the glider, remaining a few meters below; there was no time to take avoiding action. Had the drone been on a collision course it was unlikely that the glider would have responded to control inputs rapidly enough to allow avoiding action to be effective.
The board determined that the drone was being flown in the vicinity of an airfield circuit such that it was endangering other aircraft at that location and altitude. The Board agreed that the incident was therefore best described as the drone was flown into conflict with the glider. The two aircraft came within 15 feet of colliding, according to the board's report.
The Board considered that the pilot’s estimate of separation, allied to his overall account of the incident and his inability to avoid the drone portrayed a situation where providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed. The board said that the risk of collision in this incident was "High".
(Source: Airprox Board. Image from file)
More News
Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System ODALS consists of seven omnidirectional flashing lights located in the approach area of a nonprecision runway. Five lights are located on t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
Also: 1800th E-Jet, Uncle Sam Sues For Landing Gear, Embraer Ag Plane, Textron Parts A friend of the family reported that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Glenn Rutan flew west on Friday, M>[...]
Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]
“Our aircrews are trained and capable of rapidly shifting from operational missions to humanitarian roles. We planned to demonstrate how we, and our BORSTAR partners, respond>[...]