British Airways Plane Was Likely “Hit” By Plastic Bag, Not Drone

British Airways Plane Was Likely “Hit” By Plastic Bag, Not Drone

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Earlier in the week it was reported that a British Airways Airbus A320 enroute from Geneva to London was hit by a drone on approach to Heathrow. The plane was supposedly hit by the object at around 1,700 feet, just minutes before landing.

This was believed to be the first instance of a drone hitting a commercial aircraft, which is something which seems to pose a serious threat. There have been several near misses between planes and drones over the past few years, as the popularity of drones has increased.

Drones do seem to pose a risk, regardless of whether or not the motives are nefarious. In other words, I don’t think the next big terrorist attack will consist of a bunch of drones going after planes, but rather that some idiot who lacks common sense could be flying a drone near an airport in a plane’s path.

Well, as it turns out, the British Airways A320 may not have actually been hit by a drone on Sunday… but rather by a plastic bag… or something.

British-Airways-A320

Per The Telegraph:

Transport minister Robert Goodwill admitted authorities had not yet confirmed whether what struck the Airbus A320 was a remote-controlled device.

Mr Goodwill said: “The reported drone strike on Sunday has not been confirmed it was actually a drone. It was the local police force that tweeted that they had a report of a drone striking an aircraft.

“And indeed the early reports of a dent in the front of the plane were not confirmed – there was no actual damage to the plane and there’s indeed some speculation that it may have even been a plastic bag or something.

“I’ve not actually landed a 747 at Heathrow but I’ve landed the simulator and the pilot has a lot of other things to concentrate on so we’re not quite sure what they saw so I think we should maybe not overreact too much.”

British Airways must have been channeling their inner Katy Perry, feeling like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again…

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  1. Donna Diamond

    @Peter, I would rather not put your theory to test.

  2. Dani Member

    @Peter, a novice here. I would assume that drones would damage the engine more disastrously than birds would because of the parts that make up the drones. But again, birds can be a deadly projectile too when hitting a plane. Anybody has any thoughts?

  3. Peter Michaelson Guest

    I have a quadcopter (drone). Weighs under 3 pounds. It's a very popular model - not at all lighter than average. I just can't see how it could be any more dangerous than a bird to an airliner. What am I missing?

  4. Stephen Guest

    Nice one Nigel, one for the golf club

  5. Rohit Venkat Guest

    Lucky, Fly Lufthansa to pune and get a chance to fly a longhaul configured 737-800. Try it or feature it in you next article.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Donna Diamond

@Peter, I would rather not put your theory to test.

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Dani Member

@Peter, a novice here. I would assume that drones would damage the engine more disastrously than birds would because of the parts that make up the drones. But again, birds can be a deadly projectile too when hitting a plane. Anybody has any thoughts?

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Peter Michaelson Guest

I have a quadcopter (drone). Weighs under 3 pounds. It's a very popular model - not at all lighter than average. I just can't see how it could be any more dangerous than a bird to an airliner. What am I missing?

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