Passenger jet over Scotland narrowly avoids disaster after near-miss with drone

A passenger plane flying over Scotland came dangerously close to colliding with a drone.

The pilot of an Airbus A320 was 7,000ft up when he noticed a black drone ahead of the plane. It moved directly over the top of the aircraft and passed before any evasive action could be taken. It is unclear how many passengers were on board or what airline was involved, but A320's typically have around 180 seats.

The near-miss above Dewar in the Scottish Borders was reported to air traffic control in August and the aviation safety body Airprox has now said that the risk of collision at that altitude was "very high" and that only "providence" had prevented a potential disaster.

It is against the law to fly a drone above 400ft or within 1km of an airport boundary. Picture: SWNS

"The drone passed before any action could be taken. The reported drone was being flown above the maximum permitted height of 400ft and within controlled airspace such that it was endangering other aircraft at that location.

"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."

Earlier this year, a special investigation by The Scotsman revealed how a drone came within a few feet of colliding with a passenger plane over Edinburgh Airport in one of a string of terrifying incidents involving the unmanned aircraft in the last three years.

As of July 30, 2018, it is against the law to fly a drone above 400ft or within 1km of an airport boundary.