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Stansted Airport: Balloon near miss recorded by Boeing 737 pilot

Getty Images An airplane taking off at London Stansted AirportGetty Images
The pilot taking off at Stansted said that, although the object looked like a balloon, he thought it was more likely a drone because of the 9,000ft altitude

Pilots reported at least seven near misses with objects believed to have been balloons in UK airspace last year, according to aviation data.

A Boeing 737 pilot, taking off from London Stansted Airport in Essex on 29 September, told the UK Airprox Board they saw a "glinting object" that was 164ft (50m) from the aircraft.

The pilot was flying at 9,000ft.

An Airbus A320 captain also recorded a possible balloon or drone flying near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, on 16 July.

They said the object was "grey/silver in colour" and "almost shiny in appearance" when it passed 100-200ft (30m-61m) below the aircraft.

According to the data, analysed by the PA news agency, other incidents included:

  • the pilot of another Airbus A321 saw "a small white weather balloon" while 34,000ft above Norwich on 3 June
  • a pilot in an EV97 light aircraft reported an object that "could have been a balloon or an egg-shaped drone" while flying over Enfield, north London, on 17 December
  • the first officer onboard an ATR 72 turboprop plane approaching Liverpool John Lennon Airport on 8 April observed "a small silver coloured object" about 32ft (10m) away from the right wing at 3,500ft
  • a Boeing 757 pilot reported a "black object" that resembled balloons, or a drone, passing the right-hand side of the plane at 7,500ft shortly after departing from Manchester Airport

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday said the government would do "whatever it takes" to keep the UK safe from the threat of spy balloons.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is conducting a security review after the US military shot down a series of objects in Western airspace.

Video appears to show China balloon shot down off the US coast

In October 2017, the Met Office said it launched 4,300 weather balloons each year from six locations in the UK.

A spokesman said on Wednesday: "Our weather balloons collect crucial atmospheric data as they quickly rise though the atmosphere before bursting at around 36km (22 miles) above the earth's surface and return safely under a small parachute.

"All launches follow Civil Aviation Authority regulations and are conducted with local air traffic control."

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