Virgin Australia flight reports close call with drone near Brisbane Airport
Virgin Australia reported one of its jets had a close call with a drone as it approached Brisbane airport.
Virgin said Flight VA329 was at an altitude of about 1300 feet when it narrowly missed colliding with the UAV.
"The flight crew from VA329 visually saw a drone on approach into Brisbane Airport. It landed safely and the event has been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.," an airline spokesperson said.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority polices the skies around airports and says it imposed 60 fines for errant drones last year.
"Where we get evidence of a breach of the rules, or a potential breach of the rules, we do investigate and where breaches are proven, we issue penalties,” CASA rep Peter Gibson said.
"The challenge, of course, is identifying who is flying the drone."
Australia has announced new rules for drone owners which require registering all weighing at least 250 grams.
The issue surrounding safety near airports has heated up following high profile disruptions at London airports last year.
A drone sighting recently also led to some flight disruption at Newark Airport in the US.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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