When a drone allegedly collided with a British Airways plane landing at London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday, it was thought to be the first time such a thing had happened.

But it turns out there's little evidence that whatever the plane hit was actually a drone.

According to the United Kingdom's Department for Transport Minister Robert Goodwill, who spoke about the incident from Parliament on Thursday, it "may have even been a plastic bag."

The pilot of the British Airways Airbus A320 reportedly said upon landing that he thought the plane had collided with a drone as it descended.

An Airbus A320 belonging to British Airways lands at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany. Image: Soeren Stache/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

But Goodwill said there is scant evidence of a drone collision, and "there was no actual damage to the plane," which was allowed to fly after an inspection.

Goodwill also downplayed calls for stricter controls on drone flight, according to The Telegraph. Even if the accident was caused by a drone, the device was already flying at many times the legal limit.

Metropolitan police are still looking into the incident, as is the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

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