Drone in near-miss with light aircraft in Northamptonshire

The pilot of the Van's RV-6 - similar to this one - had to take evasive action when he saw the drone

The safety of a light aircraft was compromised in a near-miss with a commercial drone, investigators found.

The incident happened near Byfield 2,000ft (610m) over the skies of Northamptonshire, in May.

The pilot of the Van's RV-6 two-seater, single engine craft had to take evasive action, and the drone passed down the left-hand side of the aircraft.

He reported the near-miss, but the drone could not be seen on radar and the operator could not be traced.

The UK Airprox Board, set up to enhance air safety in the UK, branded the risk rating a "category B", meaning the aircraft's security was compromised.

The pilot described the drone as a "red and yellow, three-rotor drone", which was the "type that can be easily bought in shops and not a commercial surveillance type vehicle".

The report states the drone operator should not have been operating the drone at such a high altitude.

It says: "Because the drone was being operated at an altitude it should not have been, the reported drone was flown into conflict with the RV6.

"Although there was no radar data to measure the exact separation, the Board thought it was clear from the pilot's report that this was a fairly close encounter, and they assessed the risk as Category B."