Police hunting drone operator after ‘near miss’ with plane at Newquay Airport with 62 people on board
Police said the incident showed a ‘complete disregard for human safety’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A passenger plane landing at Newquay Airport with 62 people on board has narrowly missed colliding with a drone in the latest incident to spark concern about the gadgets.
Police launched an investigation after the incident on Wednesday afternoon and were appealing for information on the operator of the drone.
Inspector Dave Meredith said the plane was approaching the runway shortly before 3pm when the remotely piloted device approached.
“The plane was at 900ft and was approximately two miles from the airport, just south of St Columb Major, when it reported a near miss with a drone which flew alongside the aircraft," he added.
“Police immediately conducted a search of the area but neither the drone nor its operator could be located."
Drones, also known as remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), can be bought commercially but must be operated in line with Civil Aviation Authority rules.
They must not be flown above 400ft or near planes, helicopters, airports and airfields for safety.
Inspector Meredith described the incident at Newquay Airport as “incredibly concerning”.
“The close proximity of the drone to the passenger aircraft shows a complete disregard by the operator for public safety and we are appealing to the public for information to help us track down this reckless drone operator,” he added.
“We view such incidents very seriously and the forces’ specialist drone unit will be leading on the investigating into this incident.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, email 101@dc.police.uk quoting police log 443, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments