Posted on 03/18/2016 7:35:23 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The close encounter between the wide-body, four-engine Airbus A380 and the drone occurred at about 1:30 p.m. at an altitude of 5,000 feet (152 metres) as the unmanned aircraft passed about 200 feet (61 meters) over the Lufthansa flight 14 miles (22.5 km) east of the airport, the FAA said.
No evasive action was taken by the airline crew, and the plane, Lufthansa Flight 456, safely made its landing minutes later without further incident, according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
The FAA immediately alerted the Los Angeles Police Department's air support division, an LAPD spokesman said.
The number of passengers and crew aboard the plane was not immediately reported by authorities, nor was the flight's origin.
Federal regulations generally bar drone aircraft and model airplanes from flying higher than 400 feet (122 meters) or within 5 miles (8 km) of an airport without first contacting air traffic control and airport authorities. Operators also must keep their drones away from other aircraft, sporting events and other groups of people.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
5,000 feet? That must be a very high end drone.
Ut us inexcusable that people would fly a drone near airports and at altitudes where they endanger airplanes.
..5,000 feet? That must be a very high end drone...
Pilot told tower 52-53.
Saw a drone flying near the other end of LAX runways - it was going up and down just above the beaches just south of the airport. 5000 feet is much, much higher than this thing.
Here’s a phrase that apparently the airlines simply made up: near miss. They say that if 2 planes almost collide, it’s a near miss. Bullsh__, my friend. It’s a near hit! A collision is a near miss.
[WHAM! CRUNCH!]
“Look, they nearly missed!”
“Yes, but not quite.”
-George Carlin
Error in original article. 152 meters= ~500 feet.
Yep, government...
Probably should read 1,520 meters.
If an A380 was at 500 feet 14 miles east of LAX...that would be a headline in and of itself.
I think the "152 meters" is wrong, not the "5000 feet." The plane was not landing. It was about 14 miles east of the airport.
14 miles @ 300 ft/mile for a 3 degree glideslope = 4200 feet, plus about 200 feet (above the jet, per the reports) = about 4400 feet for the drone at the time of the incident.
It was probably one of the heavier drones, with bigger batteries and cameras, since the smaller ones can’t get that high (and the operator would lose sight of a smaller one at that altitude).
Put it this way: the drones that have that kind of capability have more mass than a goose, and at 200 knots closure (likely the slowest the A380 was traveling) it could do a lot of damage, considering it’s not composed of skin, bone, and feathers, but rather dense metal in its motors, batteries, and cameras.
Yeah, be a lot of very excited folks out in East L.A. Possibly taking potshots as it flew over as well.
They didn't see it until it was too late for evasive action. If they had been on a collision path, they likely would have collided even with a few seconds notice, because the A380 is not very maneuverable at that configuration and speed, and was on autopilot (slows the response from the pilot unless the autopilot is disconnected).
Thank you for flying Lufthansa...
(Very old punchline to a very old joke.)
That’s disturbing too. On my last trip out of LAX, we we’re at about 1000 ft over the beach, A-321.
Dang, I don’t really want a drone yet, but every time I read one of these stories I feel compelled to go get one before some jackass ruins it for all of us and it’s too late.
my drone is registered with faa and is capable of amazing heights. Very fun to use but govt will probably further restrict use with things like this going on.
“govt will probably further restrict use with things like this going on.”
What can they really do after you own it? Don’t they have to get the manufacturers to build in governors of some sort?
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