Serious drone incident at Gatwick

LONDON - "Definite risk of collision": UK Airprox Board reports a serious incident involving a drone and an Easyjet Airbus A320 on final approach to London-Gatwick July 8th.

Passing about 350ft, "slightly right of the centreline", the Captain spotted the object first, according to the report. "The F/O looked out and also saw a drone, directly in front of the aircraft, slightly to the left at a range of about 100m."

The incident was a really close call: "The F/O is a drone enthusiast and identified the drone as a DJI Inspire", according to the UKAB protocol.

Pilots were unable to perform any evasive manoeuvre "due to the speed" of the event. "The crew believed that if the autopilot had still been engaged, and they were on the centreline, there was a very high probability that they would have struck the drone." The A320 passed the drone in an estimated 20 meters separation.