A passenger plane believed to have been struck by an unknown object as it approached Heathrow is now not thought to have been hit by a drone, the government has said.
The pilot of a British Airways flight from Geneva reported a suspected collision with a drone on 17 Aprilbut the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, told MPs on Thursday that experts believed this was not “a drone incident”.
BA said at the time that the aircraft landed safely and was examined by engineers before being cleared to take off on its next flight.
An investigation launched by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been closed due to lack of evidence. A spokesman for the AAIB said: “We made initial inquiries but there was insufficient information on what object was involved for us to take it further.”
Following the incident police appealed for anyone with relevant information to come forward. Officers searched a “wide area” in Richmond, south-west London, but did not find anything.
Transport minister Robert Goodwill told the Lords European Union internal market subcommittee last week that reports the Airbus A320 was hit by a drone had not been confirmed.
He said: “There was no actual damage to the plane and there is indeed some speculation it may have been even a plastic bag or something. The pilot has a lot of other things to concentrate on [when landing] so we’re not quite sure what they saw.”
There have been a number of reports of near-misses between planes and unmanned aircraft in the last year. A report in March by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) found there were 23 cases in the six months between April and October last year, including two at Heathrow.
The Civil Aviation Authority advises that drone operators must be able to see the craft at all times and must not fly above 400ft (122 metres). Drones fitted with cameras must not be flown within 50 metres (164ft) of people, vehicles or buildings, or over congested areas or large gatherings such as concerts and sports events.
Ministers are examining the possibility of introducing a drone-registration scheme in the UK, similar to the ones already in place in Ireland and the US. The Department for Transport confirmed it was also talking to manufacturers about introducing so-called geo-fencing technology in their drones.