BA Cityflyer E170 at London on Sep 13th 2015, near collision with drone
Last Update: February 1, 2016 / 14:14:17 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Sep 15, 2015
Classification
Incident
Cause
Near collision
Airline
British Airways Cityflyer
Flight number
BA-2284
Departure
Geneva, Switzerland
Destination
London City, United Kingdom
Aircraft Registration
G-LCYD
Aircraft Type
Embraer ERJ-170
ICAO Type Designator
E170
The United Kingdom's Airproximity Board rated the occurrence a category A (involving high risk of collision) and reported that due to the TCAS traffic advisory the workload of the crew was high at the time. The approach controller later reported that the crew advised of a balloon like object at similiar altitude when the aircraft was about abeam the Houses of Parliament. The object was not visible on radar. The Airprox board continued that the operator of the drone could not be identified.
The Airprox Board analysed: "The crew of the E170 reported seeing the drone at 2000ft whilst on the approach to London City Airport. The Board first noted that, as for other aviators, drone operators are fundamentally required to avoid collisions with all aircraft. More specifically, drone flight above 400ft is prohibited in Class D airspace without the permission of the appropriate air traffic control unit and therefore the drone operator was not entitled to operate in this location. Furthermore, there are restrictions on flying drones overhead built-up areas: without permission, drones cannot be operated within 150m of any congested area, or within 50m of any vessel, vehicle or structure. Therefore the drone operator was also not entitled to fly the drone in the location he did over London. In this incident, operating at levels of 2000ft, the drone operator would almost certainly have been operating on first-person-view (FPV), for which regulation mandates that an additional person must be used as a competent observer who must maintain direct unaided visual contact with the drone in order to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft. Under FPV operations, for drones of less than 3.5kg, the drone is not permitted to operate above 1000ft agl without CAA approval being gained and a NOTAM being issued. At 2000ft, the drone operator was flying within the London City CTR, Class D airspace, without permission and, in his non-compliance; the Board considered that the drone operator was posing a flight safety risk."
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Sep 15, 2015
Classification
Incident
Cause
Near collision
Airline
British Airways Cityflyer
Flight number
BA-2284
Departure
Geneva, Switzerland
Destination
London City, United Kingdom
Aircraft Registration
G-LCYD
Aircraft Type
Embraer ERJ-170
ICAO Type Designator
E170
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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