Drone Rips Huge Hole In Commercial Plane While Landing

Drone Rips Huge Hole In Commercial Plane While Landing

A Linhas Aereas de Mocambique (LAM) flight, the airline of Mozambique, was on approach into the capital city of Tete, when the crew and passengers heard a loud bang.  The flight crew originally thought it must have been a bird strike, with no other indicators representing any problem with the aircraft.  The Boeing 737 landed safely and the damage was noted on a post-landing check on the aircraft, according to The Aviation Herald.

A replacement aircraft was sent and the return flight was able to continue with only a minor delay.  A new nose (radome) was ordered for the struck aircraft.

It is not unheard of for drones to openly operate in the area around the airport, as they are used to survey gold mines.  Many locals complain that the drones are operated in a way where there is no regard for commercial aircraft in the air.

In the United States, there are very strict guidance on drone activity near airports.  Those regulations are overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has taken many steps to limit the operation of drones.  This is a clear example of the danger drones can pose if operated near commercial aircraft without any regulation.  In this case, the situation turned out okay, but that is not to say the passengers and crew on that flight weren’t lucky.  There could have been a much more devastating turn of events if the drone would have gone into the engine or hit somewhere else.