Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet pilots spot 'radio-controlled drone' while landing aircraft

A VIRGIN Atlantic jumbo jet escaped a catastrophic crash after pilots spotted a radio-controlled DRONE while landing the aircraft, it has emerged.

Pilots of a Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet claim to have seen a dronePilots of a Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet claim to have seen a droneGETTY

Pilots of a Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet claim to have seen a drone while landing

The pilots, who had just flown from London to New York, were making their final descent into JFK Airport when they claim to have seen what looked like a drone.

They said the machine was clearly visible as they made their way to land, with the crew of the Boeing 747 Virgin Atlantic Flight 9 flight also backing up their claims.

The crew estimated the drone was flying at an altitude of around 3,000 feet, and looked as though it could have been bought by any enthusiast for around a few hundred pounds.

They were flying over heavily populated areas of Nassau County last Sunday evening when the alleged incident happened.

"The object was moving at a slow rate of speed and was like a quad copter drone," the crew told investigators. 

Experts have since warned that a direct hit by a drone could have deadly consequences, similar to that caused by a bird strike, particularly if it were to be sucked into the engine.

"These planes are all being approached [by drones] while the planes are landing, so they're close to the ground, which means the pilot doesn't have a whole lot of room for maneuvering," said Ken Honig, formerly a senior official with the Port Authority that operates all the New York area airports.

"If the unmanned aerial vehicle gets too close to a plane, it could get sucked into a jet engine. The kind of damage done by a bird could be amplified by the metal parts in a UAV."

Shockingly, this is one of three alleged drone spottings to have occurred near JFK Airport in the space of as many days.

A few minutes after the Virgin incident, a Delta 737 aircraft coming in from San Diego, California, also claims to have seen the drone.

plane droneGETTY

Three seperate incidences happened while planes were landing at JFK Airport

If the unmanned aerial vehicle gets too close to a plane, it could get sucked into a jet engine

Ken Honig

In this case, the machine "came within several feet of the left wing", a police official said.

Then just three days later, the pilot of a Jet Blue aircraft also said he saw a similar sighting on Wednesday afternoon.

This particular incident was captured on film, showing the pilot expressing his concern to the control tower at the airport.

County police said they sent a helicopter up to search for the drone, but found nothing.

The three sightings have since prompted a formal investigation into all all three incidents, led by the Federal Aviation Authority, Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI.

The Federal Aviation Administration has said it expects around 10,000 drones to be in operation in around five years, sparking concern about the use of the machines.

Aviation experts have particularly expressed outrage over rules, put in place by federal regulators to ban drones from airspace close to airports, not being enforced.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS), or more commonly known as drones, are aircrafts that are controlled remotely by someone from the ground or through a pre-programmed mission.

They can be used for military missions, to transport objects or for recreational use.

A Virgin representative refused to comment on the incident regarding the Boeing 747 Virgin Atlantic Flight 9.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?