Gatwick airport crash fear as drone comes within 30ft of 737 jet
A drone came within 10m-20m of colliding with a Boeing 737 airliner on its approach to Gatwick Airport, a report reveals. Investigators said it was only due to 'providence' that a more serious incident did not take place.
The report on the black object, believed to be a drone, was submitted to the UK Airprox Board, a body that probes aviation near-misses. The passenger plane was coming into land at Gatwick Airport, over Bexhill on Sea in east Sussex, when the incident occurred. Official papers state: 'The B737 pilot reports passing over the south coast, descending into LGW, when the Captain saw a black object (believed to be a drone) in front of the aircraft. "There was no time to take avoiding action and the object passed 10-20m on the right-hand side of the aircraft". The horizontal distance from the plane was around 30ft at its shortest point, while the object was spotted approximately 10 ft above the level the aircraft was flying at.
"The pilot reported the near-miss to air traffic control. Airprox Board members ruled: 'The Board considered that providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed.'
The incident in January this year was given an A rating, the most serious risk level. It was reported to Air Traffic Control with the danger of a collision said to be 'high'.
Meanwhile, a new ray gun that uses high-frequency radio waves to blast drones out of the sky has been successfully trialled by the Army.
Soldiers used the weapon to target and take down swarms of the deadly devices in the largest trial of its type at a firing range in Wales. And the successful trial was hailed a game-changer by defence minister Maria Eagle, who said it could save the country a fortune when it comes to buying weapons.
The use of drones is on the rise across the UK, with warnings from police about their use in and around airports and in public spaces. Each blast from the Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon (RF DEW) costs just 10p. It could be used alongside existing systems, the Ministry of Defence said after trials last week.
Developed and built in the UK, the weapon uses radio waves to damage critical electronic components inside drones, causing them to crash or malfunction. It can fire at drones flying up to 1km away, according to MoD experts.
Tests have proven it was capable of hitting multiple targets simultaneously. The army tracked, engaged and defeated more than 100 drones using the weapon.
No.10 has invested more than £40million in RF DEW research and development to date. The project supports 135 jobs in Northern Ireland and south-east England. The MoD has previously said the development of RF DEW systems could play a role in preventing disruption at airports.
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All 25 passengers and four crew members died when a RAF Chinook helicopter crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, on June 2 1994. 9 A RAF Chinook helicopter crashed in Scotland in 1994 killing all 29 passengers Credit: PA 9 Pilots Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook who were exonerated in 2011 after they were initially blamed for the disaster Credit: Handout 9 The victims' families are now calling for a public inquiry into the full circumstances of what happened Credit: PA The Chinook ZD576 took off from RAF Aldergrove near Belfast at 5.42pm headed for Fort George in Scotland - 20 minutes later it crashed into a hillside. Among those killed were experts from the Security Services, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army including the majority of the UK's senior Northern Ireland intelligence and counter-terrorism experts at the time. 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"Why were those service personnel put on an aircraft which the MoD's most experienced test pilots were forbidden to fly the day before the fatal crash?' The Chinook Justice campaign was born after the families discovered the official files had been sealed for a century through a BBC documentary on the disaster in 2024. Jenni added: "They didn't notify us of this, that our loved ones' records were being sealed - we had to find out through a TV programme. "I think everyone, without a shadow of a doubt, is sure that there is a cover up here." Lucy Sparks, 33, was only two-years-old when her own father, Gary Sparks, died in 1994 and branded the MoD's behaviour as a "shameful". "I'm appalled really how they've held themselves over the years. "I mean, blaming the pilots in the first instance, knowing that wasn't the case, and those poor pilots' families that had to campaign and campaign and campaign. "The way they have conducted themselves is shameful and I think if this is how they treat people who worked for them, who were fighting for their country, fighting for peace in Ireland - it's abhorrent. "My family and I were appalled to learn that the documents had been locked up to 2094. "My daughter will be in her 70s, we will all be dead, and it just really begs the question as to why they are doing that - it's unprecedented." She added that "we very much believe this is a cover-up" and a general pattern of behaviour from a government trying to save face, citing the sub-postmasters, infected blood scandal to nuclear veterans and now the Afghan data leak. 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'We provided a detailed and considered response to the pre-action protocol letter stating the reasons why we cannot accept the demand for establishing a new Public Inquiry. It's unlikely that a Public Inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence. 'The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent Judge-led review.' The MoD have also stated that the closed records, which are held at The National Archives, contain personal information relating to third party individuals and the release of this information would breach their data protection rights. But the families' legal team have argued otherwise. Mark Stephens, solicitor for the families said: We are taking legal action for the families because the MoD did not protect the right to life of the 29 people on board. "None of the previous inquiries properly looked into the full circumstances surrounding the crash. We went a judge to be able to look at the files that have been squirrelled away. "Data protection rules do not trump people's lives and should not be abused to hide the culpable and responsible at the top of the MoD from accountability and scrutiny." Andy Tobias, 41, from Watford, was eight when his father, Lieutenant Colonel John Tobias, 41, lost his life in the Kintyre crash. Speaking on the MoD's statement, he said: "It's nonsense, more deceit, more deception, more delay tactics. "We're calling them the Ministry of Deceit because they are just deceiving us. "We are fed up and frustrated with it, but we're still united, we're strong and we're defiant and we're going to keep pushing really, really hard until we get the truth that we all deserve. Just this week, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, refused their calls for an inquiry in a letter to Andy who called the response "utterly pathetic". 9 Andy Tobias called the MoD's statement 'nonsense' Credit: Supplied by the Chinook Justice Campaign 9 Andy Tobias, was eight when his father lost his life in the Kintyre crash Credit: Supplied by the Chinook Justice Campaign In the letter, the PM said he does "not believe that a new inquiry can bring any greater certainty" siding with the MoD in saying the records sealed away "offer no insights into the crash". Furious Andy responded, saying: "The Prime Minister talks the talk about transparency but he's just slammed the door in our face. "He says the government is committed to transparency and accountability, but on the other hand - we'll just seal away the files for a century and tell us bereaved families there's nothing to see here. "The PM should stand full square behind his professed duty of candour on public bodies - instead he's hiding behind the deceitful MOD. "I'm sickened and so are all the other families fighting for truth and transparency - there is everything to be concerned about the run up to this crash." When requested to comment, the Prime Minister's office said the letter and the MoD's statement illustrate the government's position. And when Jenni tried to get in touch with veterans minister, Alastair Carns after connecting with him on LinkedIn, she was ignored. She said she sent the MP a "very emotional, personal message" which he read and never responded. "It was quite personal - I described the emotional toll, the grief as like a chronic disease," Jenni said. "He didn't even bother responding with a fob off or platitudes like he's been giving everyone else - it's so dishonourable. "He's a veteran for Christ's sake - it's supposed to be a brotherhood and he just doesn't care. "It's all about the MoD party line and saving face for them and this is our lives." The Sun has reached out to Alastair Carns for comment. Conservative MP, Sir David Davis, who chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the crash, came out in support of a new inquiry last month. "I followed and campaigned on this for a decade afterwards and we were never given the truth about the technical status of the aircraft," he said in an interview with Sky News. "It needs to be put in the public domain these documents and to put them under seal for a century is extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary. "As somebody said, it does indicate that they're trying to cover something up." The Conservative MP, Sir Liam Fox, recently said on the Political Currency podcast, hosted by former chancellor George Osborne, that he now had 'doubts' that the airworthiness issue had been properly investigated previously. Asked what it would mean for the Chinook campaign to succeed, all three of Jenni, Lucy and Andy agreed it would provide "closure". Lucy said: "I think it's, it's, it's really about closure for the families, when there has been this sense of unknowing for that time but it's also about justice, it's about justice for our dads, and it's about accountability from the Ministry of Defence." "It would really mean the world to all of us, it would mean peace - you know, this has been 31 years," added a tearful Jenni. "I can't wait another 31 years, I'm so certain that something is amiss here - but it's not like it's going to be a happy outcome. "I'm sure that it's a cover-up, so when we finally get that proved, I'm going to be very angry." "It would mean for me and for other families that we can hopefully get some closure," Andy said. "Not that you ever really get closure after you lose a loved one, but at least it gives us the opportunity to know more around the circumstances of that crash and why all those men and women boarded that flight. "We'll keep pushing very, very hard until we get the truth." The Chinook Justice Campaign has launched an online petition that has already seen more than 25,000 signatures.
