A collision between a drone and the engine of a commercial aircraft would cause a “catastrophic failure”, an expert said ALAMYThe threat to passenger aircraft from drones has been grossly underestimated, MPs have been told. Pilots’ leaders said that the number of near-misses between drones and aircraft was likely to be significantly higher than official figure of almost three a week. Tim Pottage from the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) said that pilots spent most of their time monitoring instruments or looking straight ahead and may miss many close passes at the sides of their aircraft. He warned that a direct collision between a drone and the engine of a large commercial airliner would cause a “catastrophic failure”. The UK Airprox Board has published the latest reports of near misses between drones and aircraft over Britain.

Source: The Times June 26, 2019 23:00 UTC