EXCLUSIVE: Drone flew so close to British Airways Dreamliner as it approached Heathrow that the pilot thought it was ‘going to hit the windscreen’.

A drone came so close to hitting a British Airways plane over London that the pilot thought it was “going to hit the windscreen”, a report has revealed.

The near miss occurred as the B787 plane flying at around 230 mph and carrying up to 256 passengers was coming to land at Heathrow after a flight from Mumbai, India.

The illegally stolen aircraft appeared while the plane was 5,200ft above the Poplar area of ​​east London before commencing its final approach just before 2pm on May 14 this year .

The BA pilot immediately radioed Heathrow air traffic controllers to report that the drone had “passed within one wing of the left side of the aircraft”.

The UK Airprox Board, which assesses near misses in UK airspace, added: “There was visual contact from the captain’s window. The drone was white in color and professional sized.

The illegally stolen aircraft appeared while the plane was 5,200ft above the Poplar area, east of London, before commencing its final approach just before 2pm on May 14 this year (archive photo).

A report from the NATS air traffic control service added: “When asked if the drone was at their level, the pilot replied: “Yes. I literally thought he was going to hit the windshield.”

The pilot said he believed the plane ended up overtaking the drone when it was about 100 feet away and that the risk of collision was “high.”

Other aircraft passing through the area were alerted to the sighting, but no other drones were reported in the area. T

The height at which the drone was flying was approximately 13 times the usual legal maximum height for 400-foot devices. Most drones come with software that limits their maximum height, but this can be circumvented with patches purchased on the Internet.

It is believed the drone was being flown by someone trying to get dramatic video footage of an airliner in flight.

Aviation experts have long warned of the risk of drones damaging cockpit windows or plane engines, with potentially catastrophic consequences if they hit a plane.

The drone operator involved in the incident could have faced up to five years in prison for endangering a plane if caught, but it is believed he never been found.

The UK Airprox Board has classified this near miss as a Category A incident involving a serious risk of collision.

An image from flight tracking website Flightradar24 showing the British Airways plane in the area where it almost hit the drone.

The report added: “In the opinion of the Council, the reported altitude and/or description of the object was sufficient to indicate that it could have been a drone.

“The Commission considered that the overall account of the incident given by the pilot described a situation in which Providence had played a major role in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision existed.”

A British Airways spokesperson said: “We take these matters extremely seriously and our pilots report incidents so that the authorities can investigate and take appropriate action.”