London (CNN) A passenger jet approaching London's Gatwick Airport was forced to take evasive action after the pilot noticed a drone ahead, a near-miss report has revealed.

The incident occurred in April and involved an Airbus A320, which can carry up to 186 passengers.

The plane's pilot reported that he "saw a dark colored drone ahead" and "avoiding action of a 5-8° bank to the right was taken," according to a summary of the report published by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) body.

The organization graded the incident as having the highest category of risk.

It came months after reported drone sightings at Gatwick grounded flights over the Christmas period and disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people.

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