UK safety authorities have disclosed that they have been investigating an airprox incident between an Airbus A320-family jet and an unmanned aerial vehicle west of London Heathrow.

The incident, which occurred on 22 July, has been classified by the UK Airprox Board as creating a “serious risk of collision” – the strongest category that investigators can assign.

Co-ordinates given by the Airprox Board state that the incident took place at a height of 700ft west of the threshold of runway 09L.

Heathrow had been conducting landing operations on runway 09L at the time of the event, which took place in daylight.

Meteorological data for the airport shows that weather conditions were good with excellent visibility.

The Airprox Board has not identified the operator involved. It simply lists the intruding aircraft as an “unspecified” unmanned aerial vehicle.

It has yet to issue a detailed investigative report into the incident.

Source: Cirium Dashboard