UK: Pilots call for research into impact of drone hitting passenger jet

Tests must be done into what would happen if a drone hit a passenger jet, say airline pilots following a recent spate of near-misses. Balpa wants the DfT and the CAA to back research into the possible consequences of such a collision. The former BA pilot Steve Landells warned that a drone hitting an airliner could result in an uncontrolled engine failure or a smashed cockpit windscreen. Twenty-three near-misses between aircraft and drones were investigated by the UK Airprox Board in just 6 months, including 12 given an A rating – meaning there was a serious risk of collision. Landells said although there was a large amount of data on the effects of bird strikes on planes that was not a true representation of what would happen with a drone because “birds don’t have a big lump of lithium battery in them”. <br/>