The pilot of a commercial jet claims to have seen a “flying saucer” UFO that was only a few feet away from the aircraft while he was landing at Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom.
“The A319 pilot reports that descending, turning left, a disc or ‘flying saucer’ type suspected drone was seen flying very close in the opposite direction, at the same level to them, past their right wing,” investigators at the UK Airprox Board stated, according to the Mirror.
“Approximately 100-300 ft from their aircraft wing. The object looked like a disc with darker markings on the rim, a suspected possible drone, but not sure. It was very close to the aircraft, but no evasive action was required as they were in a turn already.”
A similar UFO sighting happened at another nearby airport
That same month, near Heathrow Airport in London, the pilot of an A321 reported a similar sighting, describing the UFO as a drone.
“The A321 pilot reports that, whilst in a left turn on to base leg at LHR (over Marlow), a drone was witnessed to fly down the left-hand-side of the aircraft at close enough proximity to see details such as the color, shape and individual props spinning,” the official report read.
Airprox officials added, “The board considered that providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed.”
The UFO spotted by the pilot at Gatwick Airport was also suspected to be a drone, but that wasn’t able to be confirmed. The crew of another plane told investigators it had come so close that they could make out markings and see its propellers.
Regardless of what the UFO actually was, the Airprox board concluded that the UFO had reduced the safety of the jet in the first case. Why anyone would be flying a drone anywhere near commercial planes filled with passengers is a mystery only the drone owners can answer.