A passenger jet was hit by a drone above London yesterday, sparking major concerns over air safety.

The front of a British Airways jet, carrying 132 passengers and five crew, was struck in what is believed to be the first time a drone has hit a commercial plane in British airspace.

The Airbus A320 from Geneva was minutes away from landing at Heathrow when it was hit. The aircraft landed safely.

Metropolitan Police detectives are investigating the strike, which follows a string of near misses in recent months.

Pilots warn that drones – which are too small to appear on air traffic control radar screens – could destroy an airliner's engine or smash a cockpit windscreen.

Engineers also say a drone's lithium battery could catch fire if it hit the nose or other softer parts of an aircraft and became embedded.

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An investigation has been launched after an object hit the front of British Airways' G-EUYP, pictured, as it approached Heathrow's Terminal 5

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the pilot of the flight reported to police that he believed a drone, pictured, had struck the aircraft (stock image)

An image shows the route taken by the flight over London this afternoon, during which time it was struck by an object shortly before landing

An anti-terror expert, who served in Afghanistan, said the incident illustrated the danger drones pose, as terrorist groups have been planning to use them to carry out attacks.

Richard Kemp said: 'Whether this turns out to be related to terrorism or not it is just one more Illustration of the enormous challenges facing out anti terror agencies daily,' reports The Sun.

He added: 'We know terrorists have for a long time sought to use drones to visit violence on innocent people and it a very real threat.'

Tens of thousands of drones, which cost as little as £25, have been bought in Britain in the past few years and can be operated without a licence or registration with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as long as they are not used for commercial purposes.

The British Airline Pilots Association has called for the Department for Transport and the CAA to back research into the potential risks of collisions with a passenger jet.

THEY CAN FLY 50MPH AT 6,000FT High-end drones can fly up to and beyond 6,000ft, travel up to 50mph and stay in the air for 25 minutes. They cost between £25 and £20,000, with electrical store Maplin alone reporting sales of more than 15,000 drones in the UK last year. Last year Domino's Pizza posted a video of a drone delivering a pizza, and online store Amazon has looked into using the technology to speed up deliveries. They are also used by broadcasters such as the BBC for filming. The US Air Force collected so much data from drones during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it employed 65,000 people just to process the information, while police in Texas use drones than can carry small weapons, including tasers. Advertisement

Association flight safety specialist Steve Landells, a former RAF and BA pilot, said: 'Frankly it was only a matter of time before we had a drone strike given the huge numbers being flown around by amateurs who don't understand the risks and the rules. Much more education of drone users and enforcement of the rules is needed to ensure our skies remain safe from this threat.'

The BA jet was between five and ten minutes away from landing at Heathrow's Terminal 5 when it was struck at 12.50pm.

A CAA spokesman said: 'It is totally unacceptable to fly drones close to airports and anyone flouting the rules can face severe penalties including imprisonment.

'Drone users have to understand that when taking to the skies they are potentially flying close to one of the busiest areas of airspace in the world – a complex system that brings together all manner of aircraft, including passenger aeroplanes, military jets, helicopters, gliders and light aircraft. Anyone operating a drone must do so responsibly and observe all relevant rules and regulations.'

The strike is the latest in a string of incidents involving drones in British airspace.

A report last month by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) found there were 23 near misses between drones and aircraft between April and October last year. They included one on September 22, when a Boeing 777 that had just taken off reported that a drone narrowly passed down its righthand side.

THE 'DRONECODE': RULES SET OUT BY AVIATION AUTHORITY ON DRONES The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sets the rules on the flying of drones under what is called an 'air navigation order'. The authority states a drone should never be flown near an airport or close to an aircraft, adding that it is a criminal offence 'to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight'. Flying a drone near an airport could lead to a five-year prison sentence under current laws. The rules set out by the CAA's air navigation order state: An unmanned aircraft must never be flown beyond the normal unaided 'line of sight' of the person operating it - this is generally measured as 1,640ft horizontally or 400ft vertically

An unmanned aircraft fitted with a camera must always be flown at least 164ft distance away from a person, vehicle, building or structure

An unmanned aircraft fitted with a camera must not be flown within 492ft of a congested area or large group of people, such as a sporting event or concert

For commercial purposes, operators must have permission to fly a drone from the CAA Advertisement

Investigators concluded that the drone was at the same height and within 80ft of the jet. A report was made to police but the drone operator was not traced.

Days later, a drone was flown within yards of an Airbus A319 landing at Heathrow. The jet was flying at 500ft and was on its final approach when the drone was spotted.

WHERE YOU ON THE PLANE? Were you on the plane? Contact James Dunn on 0203 615 1524 or email james.r.dunn@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

Commercial airline pilot Mike Wood said drones were becoming a growing problem.

'A drone could cause an engine failure if flown into it,' he said. 'That's obviously a concern, though airlines are able to fly on one engine. There is a real danger if one hit a light aircraft which could cause a crash.'

Philippa Oldham, from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, told the BBC last month that the risk would depend on several factors, such as the size and speed of the drone and the location of the collision.

'The impact potentially could be anything from nothing to a destruction of an engine,' she said.

The route of the flight, which took off from Geneva at 10.50am and landed in London at 12.31pm, is shown

British Airways said the aircraft was examined by engineers and cleared for its next flight following the incident (stock image)

Tony Tyler, of the International Air Transport Association, said: 'We cannot allow [drones] to be a hindrance or safety threat to commercial aviation. There is no denying that there is a real and growing threat to the safety of civilian aircraft.'

A Heathrow spokesman said last night: 'BA flight 727 from Geneva reported being struck by an unknown object as it entered its final approach towards Heathrow. The aircraft landed safely at Terminal 5.

'The safety and security of our operation is our absolute priority and we are working with British Airways and the Met police who are carrying out a full investigation.'

A BA spokesman added: 'Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight.

'Safety and security are always our first priority and we will give the police every assistance with their investigation.'

EYES IN THE SKY: HOW DRONES HAVE CAUSED A SERIES OF NEAR MISSES The UK Airprox Board has recorded several cases of drones almost causing mid-air crashes with aircraft in the past year. Many passenger jets have avoided collisions by a matter of feet either by chance or by the pilot spotting the unmanned crafts and taking evasive action. Here are some of the most notable incidents: August 12, 2015 - An Airbus 310 approaching landing at Heathrow reported seeing a drone below his aircraft. October 4, 2015 - The pilot of Boeing 777 reported seeing an unidentified object, likely to be a drone, pass very close to the left-hand side of the aircraft while landing at Heathrow. The object was only visible for a matter of seconds and no risk assessment was made. October 13, 2015 - The crew of an Airbus 380 reported a 2m-large drone taking evasive action after it was seen around 70m away while climbing to 2000ft upon departure from Heathrow. November 28, 2015 - An Airbus 319 flying above Richmond Park while coming in to land at Heathrow noticed a drone flying 'rapidly' from west to east between 400 and 900ft below the plane. It was decided the drone's flight path was of 'no risk' and the landing continued. The same day a drone was mistaken for a bird by the crew of an Airbus 321 landing at Gatwick, with the pilot noticing it at 100ft from touchdown but only realising what it was at 30ft from the ground. There was no collision but the pilot reported there would not have been time to take evasive action. December 6, 2015 - A drone passed overhead of an Embraer ERJ170 passenger plane by around 100ft while on final approach at London City Airport. Another aircraft following the same landing pattern changed its approach when the incident was flagged up. Advertisement