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| Police hunting drone operator after 'near miss' with plane at Newquay Airport with 62 people on board | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A passenger plane landed at Newquay Airport with 62 people on board has narrowly missed colliding with a drone in the latest incident to spark concern about the gadgets. | A passenger plane landed at Newquay Airport with 62 people on board has narrowly missed colliding with a drone in the latest incident to spark concern about the gadgets. |
| Police launched an investigation after the incident on Wednesday afternoon and were appealing for information on the operator of the drone. | Police launched an investigation after the incident on Wednesday afternoon and were appealing for information on the operator of the drone. |
| Inspector Dave Meredith said the plane was approaching the runway shortly before 3pm when the remotely piloted device approached. | |
| “The plane was at 900ft and was approximately two miles from the airport, just south of St Columb Major when it reported a near miss with a drone which flew alongside the aircraft," he added. | |
| “Police immediately conducted a search of the area but neither the drone nor its operator could be located." | |
| Drones, also known as remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), can be bought commercially but must be operated in line with Civil Aviation Authority rules. | |
| They must not be flown above 400ft or near planes, helicopters, airports and airfields for safety. | |
| Insp Meredith described the incident at Newquay Airport as "incredibly concerning". | |
| "The close proximity of the drone to the passenger aircraft shows a complete disregard by the operator for public safety and we are appealing to the public for information to help us track down this reckless drone operator," he added. | |
| “We view such incidents very seriously and the forces’ specialist drone unit will be leading on the investigating into this incident.” | |
| Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, email 101@dc.police.uk quoting police log 443, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. |