Drone near Glasgow Airport came so close to aircraft that pilot 'thought it had been hit'

The near miss is the fifth involving a drone near Glasgow Airport since 2016

A report into the incident on 24 November last year concluded: "Providence had played a major part in the incident".

It was rated as category A - the highest level of near miss - where a "definite risk of collision had existed".

The UK Airprox Board, which investigates such incidents, said the pilot of the Saab 2000 aircraft "saw a large commercial drone, about 1m wide.

"It was dark or black in colour and flying 5m above the captain’s window, moving in a straight line and at high speed.

"Both pilots saw it, and independently described the same size, colour and height above the aircraft.

"It was reported to air traffic control and the police met them on the ground to file a report.

"Operations were informed, and an inspection of the tail was requested because the crew thought it may have been hit, however no damage was found.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport said: “We are very much alert to the threat posed by drones and continue to work closely with the UK Government, the Civil Aviation Authority and Police Scotland to ensure our processes are both appropriate and in line with current threat assessments.

“We remain vigilant as always and would remind people that the use of drones within close proximity to an airport is both extremely dangerous and a criminal offence.”

The board concluded: "The drone was being flown above the maximum permitted height of 400ft such that it was endangering other aircraft .

"The drone was flown into conflict with the Saab 2000.

"The board considered the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed."