EasyJet plane flying at more than 300mph over Sussex countryside missed suspected drone by 16ft, official report reveals

The UK Airprox Board – which gathers data and assesses the individual risk of each air encounter on its own merits – said the close call occurred at 3.21pm on February 24 while the plane was flying at 5,000ft just north of Uckfield in East Sussex.

The incident happened just three minutes after the Airbus A320 had departed from Gatwick Airport on a flight to Basel in Switzerland.

The report published by the UK Airprox Board revealed the Airbus pilots initially believed the object was a bird before deducing it was a drone that was being flown illegally.

The pilots immediately informed air traffic controllers at Gatwick, who issued a warning to other flights departing the Sussex airport.

The incident has been recorded under Category A which is the highest level involving a serious risk of collision.

The report said: “The A320 pilot reports climbing through 5,000ft when the First Officer (PF) exclaimed that there was a bird ahead.

“They looked and caught sight of a dark-coloured object that passed very quickly down the left side, within 5-10m of the left wing.

“It did not look like a bird but like a fairly compact ‘package’ that glinted in the sun. It was hard to tell but looked stationary as they flew past, i.e. no relative motion.

“They both concluded that it was possibly a drone as it seemed to move up and then manoeuvred to the left out of the way. They reported it immediately.”

National Air Traffic Services [NATS] confirmed the easyJet pilots reported their sighting of the alleged drone shortly after leaving Gatwick.

NATS added: “Details were passed to another aircraft in the vicinity and to Gatwick Tower, who alerted following departures.

“Analysis of the radar indicated that there were no associated primary or secondary contacts visible on radar at the approximate time of the event.’

The UK Airprox Board said ‘the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed’.

But the Airprox Board added it was ‘unable to determine the nature of the unknown object’ due to the reported altitude and the description given by the pilots.

A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Airprox incidents are assessed by the independent UK Airprox Board (UKAB). The Board does not investigate incidents and these published reports are intended to enhance civil and military aviation safety, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority supports and endorses this important contribution to flight safety. We do not add further commentary or analysis to individual airprox reports.”

An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are aware of the report and will always fully support any investigation.

“Safety is always easyJet’s highest priority and our flight crew acted in accordance with our standard operating procedures to ensure the safety of the flight was not compromised at any time.”