The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said Monday it was investigating a series of near mid-air collisions between European passenger planes and military aircraft. It said in a statement that the incidents had occurred during recent months but gave no details. "These incidents have taken place over the sea at the border of the European Union.
"As reported by different EU member states, the transponders of the military aircraft were inactive and it was not possible to establish a radio contact with them. "This may have caused an immediate safety hazard to civil aviation," it added. Asked by AFP, a spokesman was unable to say how many cases were involved or the airlines concerned. EASA said it had been asked by the European Commission to carry out the analysis with the aim of identifying the causes. It will deliver recommendations on how to minimise the potential safety impact of such incidents on civil aviation in March, it said.
"This is a very serious issue," Patrick Ky, EASA executive director, said in the statement. "We will consult and interview all the relevant civil and military bodies in order to gather the necessary information to complete our analysis." A British Sunday newspaper reported at the weekend that a passenger jet had been involved in a near-miss with a drone at London's Heathrow airport in July.
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