Saudia airliner came within 100 feet of smashing into drone

An airliner carrying up to 296 passengers came within 100ft of smashing into a suspected drone as it landed at Heathrow, a report has revealed.

The pilots of the Saudia plane reported that there was a ‘high’ risk of collision as they flew underneath the object on their final approach in July.

The B787 Dreamliner was flying at around 170mph at a height of 600ft when its first officer spotted the suspected drone pass just 100ft over the cockpit.

An airliner carrying up to 296 passengers came within 100ft of smashing into a suspected drone as it landed at Heathrow, a report has revealed

A report by the UK Airprox Board, which investigates near misses, said the co-pilot reported it as being black in colour and solid in appearance, with ‘a constant shape unlike a bird’.

The close call, described as ‘a momentary sighting’ happened around two miles east of the runway after the plane had flown from Riyadh on July 21 this year.  

The report rated it as a Category B incident where safety ‘may have been compromised’.

Investigators were unable to ‘definitively determine the nature of the unknown object’, although it was described by the pilot as being ‘like a drone’.

The pilots of the Saudia plane reported that there was a ‘high’ risk of collision as they flew underneath the object on their final approach (file photo) 

But the report added: ‘The Board considered that the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where safety had been much reduced below the norm to the extent that safety had not been assured.’

The suspected drone was being flown illegally as they are normally banned from operating within 5km of an aircraft runway or flying at an altitude over 400ft.

The operator could have been jailed for up to five years for endangering an aircraft, but it is believed that they were never traced.

Saudi Airlines has been approached for comment.