It Finally Happened: Drone Hits Heathrow Plane During Landing
Earlier today a British Airways plane was hit by a drone during its approach into Heathrow Airport (h/t: Amanda). The plane landed safely and authorities are investigating. The collision is thought to be the first in the UK, though there have been multiple documented near-misses in the last several years.
Interestingly enough, the US does not have many regulations for flying drones. You do have to register your drone so you can be tracked down if your drone is involved in a crash and the FAA has some basic policies for flying which include
- Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
- Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
- Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
- Don’t fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
Seems like common sense and the 400 foot ceiling, 5 mile no-fly zone around airports should prevent these accidents and near-collisions…
If you do own a drone, the FAA offers a free smartphone app, B4UFly that lets know if there are any restrictions at your location.
