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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/11/drone-and-plane-in-near-miss-close-to-newquay-airport
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| Drone and plane in 'near-miss' close to Newquay airport | Drone and plane in 'near-miss' close to Newquay airport |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police are investigating reports of a near-miss between a drone and a passenger plane in Cornwall. | |
| The incident took place shortly before 3pm on Wednesday as the commercial flight, with 62 people on board, was going in to land at Newquay airport. | The incident took place shortly before 3pm on Wednesday as the commercial flight, with 62 people on board, was going in to land at Newquay airport. |
| Insp Dave Meredith said: “The aircraft was travelling at around 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. | |
| “Police immediately conducted a search of the area but neither the drone nor its operator could be located. This is an incredibly concerning incident; 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. | “Police immediately conducted a search of the area but neither the drone nor its operator could be located. This is an incredibly concerning incident; 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. |
| “We view such incidents very seriously and the forces’ specialist drone unit will be leading on the investigating into this incident.” | “We view such incidents very seriously and the forces’ specialist drone unit will be leading on the investigating into this incident.” |
| Stephen Landells, a flight safety specialist with the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), said: “Flying a drone close to commercial aircraft is extremely dangerous, and anybody who does it is risking people’s lives, as well as a prison sentence. | |
| “The Civil Aviation Authority is due to launch an education programme for amateur drone users which we fully support and we hope will get the message across to the casual user of the dangers of flying irresponsibly. | |
| “Drones flown commercially by trained professionals tend not to be the problem and we work closely with professional drone operators who, like us, want to ensure that drones and manned aircraft can both fly safely in our airspace .” | |
| There has never been a confirmed collision between a drone and an aeroplane in the UK but pilots have raised concerns about what would happen if one did occur, amid a number of near-misses. | |
| There were 23 near-misses between aircraft and drones between 11 April and 4 October last year, according to the UK Airprox Board, with 12 of those given an A rating – meaning there was a serious risk of collision. | |
| In April, police were called after a British Airways pilot reported that his plane was struck by a drone as it approached Heathrow airport but it was later determined that the object was not an unmanned aircraft. The plane landed safely. | |
| Balpa has urged the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority to back research into the possible consequences of a collision. | |
| Flying a drone close to a plane risks a charge of endangering the safety of an aircraft, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. | |
| Under the Air Navigation Order 2009, a person must not fly an unmanned aircraft “within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft” without the permission of the Civil Aviation Authority. |