Glider hit after drone flown 'intentionally' close

The AAIB published this photograph of the view from the drone camera just before impact with the glider

A drone was flown "intentionally" close to a glider and hit the aircraft as it was coming in to land, an investigation has found.

The glider's wing was damaged in the mid-air collision, but the pilot managed to land safely at Dunstable Airfield in Bedfordshire shortly after the incident on 7 October last year.

Video footage recovered from the drone showed it was deliberately flown towards the glider and controlled from a car park at Dunstable Downs by a young operator accompanied by two adults, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

Bedfordshire Police told the BBC no report of the incident had been received by the force.

As the glider was preparing to land at the airfield at the foot of the Downs at about 17:00 BST, the pilot and passenger saw the drone pass close to the head of the passenger before hitting the left wing, the report stated.

The glider landed safely, and the damage to the Slingsby craft was later assessed as "cosmetic".

The glider pilot reported that the unmanned aircraft (UA) - the drone - was flown from a ridge, east of the airfield.

The drone was retrieved by two young people who shared its log and video footage with a witness.

It showed that the drone was flown on the direct approach path of the glider, and the glider was in view of its camera.

Images of the drone were taken by the witness and given to the AAIB, which said in its report that the drone "did not display an operator ID, nor was an ID reported to the AAIB".

It stated that, under regulations, "A UA is classified as an aircraft and the Air Navigation Order Article 241 states that 'a person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property'."

The report concluded: "The mid-air collision occurred because the UA was intentionally flown on the approach path of the glider.

"Operation of the UA required an operator ID, but the pilots were both too young to obtain one."