Lufthansa E195 at Warsaw on Jul 20th 2015, near collision with drone

Last Update: November 2, 2015 / 14:30:39 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Jul 20, 2015

Classification
Incident

Cause
Near collision

Airline
Lufthansa

Flight number
LH-1614

Departure
Munich, Germany

Destination
Warsaw, Poland

Aircraft Registration
D-AEBD

Aircraft Type
Embraer ERJ-195

ICAO Type Designator
E195

A Lufthansa Embraer ERJ-195, registration D-AEBD performing flight LH-1614 from Munich (Germany) to Warsaw (Poland) with 108 passengers and 5 crew, was on final approach to Warsaw's runway 33 descending through 2500 feet at ILS DME 6.5nm when the crew reported in quite aggravated/shocked tone that they had just had a near collision with a drone, definitely a drone, at DME 6.5nm at 2500 feet, the drone passed in about 100 meters distance, they (Warsaw ATC) "should take care of your airspace", "it is really dangerous", with tower responding quite apologetic. The Embraer continued for a safe landing on runway 33 about 3 minutes later.

ATC switched runways in response.

Police immediately responded and dispatched a helicopter as well as ground forces to search for the operator of the drone, but was unsuccessful at first in locating the drone or its operator. Continued investigation was able to identify the operator however, a 39 year old resident of Piaseczno, located underneath the approach path runway 33 spanning from about 3 to 6.5nm from the threshold runway 33. The 39 year old is being questioned by police, admitted to have flown his drone in the area on Jul 20th and faces charges of endangering aviation safety that could imprison him for up to 8 years.

On Nov 2nd 2015 Germany's BFU reported in their July bulletin that the distance of the quadcopter drone to the aircraft was estimated at 20 to 40 meters (65-130 feet).
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Jul 20, 2015

Classification
Incident

Cause
Near collision

Airline
Lufthansa

Flight number
LH-1614

Departure
Munich, Germany

Destination
Warsaw, Poland

Aircraft Registration
D-AEBD

Aircraft Type
Embraer ERJ-195

ICAO Type Designator
E195

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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