An Air France Airbus A320 aircraft narrowly avoided a collision with a drone during its descent to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport last month, according to a statement of BEA (the French agency investigating air accidents) released today on its website.
The aircraft was on a flight from Barcelona on 19 February and during the approach, at an altitude of 5,500ft, the co-pilot suddenly spotted the drone. He immediately disengaged the autopilot and carried out an avoidance manoeuvre and informed the captain of the presence of the drone.
The co-pilot said that the drone passed only five metres below the left wing of the A320.
BEA classified the incident as “serious” and launched an investigation which is still ongoing.
