British Airways plane cleared to operate after 'drone strike' while landing

A British Airways flight was struck by what is believed to be a drone as it came in to land at Heathrow Airport, police said.

Flight BA727 from Geneva in Switzerland was hit as it came into the London hub on Sunday afternoon with 132 passengers and five crew on board.

BA said the Airbus A320 was examined by engineers and cleared to take off for its next flight following the incident.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said "a pilot on an inbound flight into Heathrow Airport from Geneva reported to police that he believed a drone had struck the aircraft" at around 12.50pm.

She 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."

No one has been arrested and aviation police based at Heathrow are investigating, she added.

A BA spokesman said: "Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight."