Suspected drone hits plane landing in London

LONDON: A British Airways plane struck an object believed to be a drone on Sunday as it was coming in for landing at Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, police said.

"A pilot on an inbound flight into Heathrow Airport from Geneva reported to police that he believed a drone had struck the aircraft," a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police said.

"The flight landed at Heathrow Terminal Five safely. It transpired that an object, believed to be a drone, had struck the front of the aircraft".

A BA spokesperson said the plane had been fully examined after landing and was cleared to operate its next flight.

The plane had been flying with 132 passengers and five crew on board.

Several near-misses involving drones have been reported at British airports in recent years, including one on July 22, 2014 which came close to an Airbus A320 passenger jet at London Heathrow.