A Porter Airlines de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration C-GLQL performing flight PD-204 from Ottawa,ON to Toronto City,ON (Canada) with 54 passengers and 4 crew, was descending through 9000 feet towards Toronto when the crew detected an unmanned aerial vehicle in their flight path and performed an evasive maneouver. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Toronto’s Billy Bishop City Airport about 11 minutes later. Both flight attendants were taken to a hospital.
The airline reported the crew detected an object in their flight path at around 9000 feet initially believing it was a balloon, in the debriefing it emerged there was potential it was a drone. The crew performed an evasive maneouver, which caused minor injuries to two flight attendants.
Canada’s TSB reported they deployed a team of investigators to Billy Bishop Airport following an occurrence involving a risk of a mid-air collision. The pilots could not confirm what the object was.
According to initial information the aircraft was descending through 9000 feet at about 230 KIAS and 1500 feet rate of descent when the crew spotted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), solid, dark, about 5-8 feet in diameter, directly ahead. The crew made abrupt nose down inputs for an evasive maneouver, one flight attendant lifted off her feet as result and struck her head on the cabin ceiling, the other flight attendant fell against a galley wall, struck her shoulder on the wall and strained her arm while trying to hold on. The crew subsequently continued to descend at 1500 fpm and landed safely on runway 26. There were negative G-values recorded. There is no evidence that the aircraft collided with the UAV, however, it is possible that the aircraft was overstressed in the maneouver, the aircraft has been grounded therefore.
The Aviation Herald
A Porter airlines flight crew had to take evasive action to avoid a flying object, which may have been a drone, as the plane approached Toronto’s downtown airport on Monday morning.
None of the 54 passengers on board were injured during the incident, now being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The TSB said the “risk of mid-air collision” happened before 7:30 a.m. ET and involved flight POE204 travelling from Ottawa to Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.
Porter said the event happened over Lake Ontario near Pickering, Ont. — about 55 kilometres east of Toronto — as the de Havilland Dash 8-400 plane was flying at a height of about 9,000 feet. The statement said pilots noticed an object in the distance, which they originally thought was a balloon.
“As they approached the object, they realized it was very close to their flight path and decided to take appropriate evasive action,” Porter said in a statement released Monday afternoon.
Flight radar shows the plane made a sharp zig-zag before continuing on to Toronto.
“There was no contact between the aircraft and object.”
“After debriefing, there is potential that the object was a drone,” the statement says.
Porter says two flight attendants who were clearing the plane’s cabin for landing sustained minor injuries. They were taken to hospital and released.
The airline says it’s working with the TSB on its investigation.
Drones can be dangerous, Ottawa warns
Kate Young, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport, said the government is aware of the incident, which she called serious.
“It’s imperative that we keep our skies safe and secure,” Young told reporters on Parliament Hill.
“Drones can be dangerous if they get too close to aircraft.”
Young said the government is working as quickly as it can to pass new legislation governing how drones can be used, especially as more Canadians begin flying them. Some potential changes, according to Transport Canada documents obtained by CBC News, include requiring drone owners to register their devices, pass a knowledge test and pay for liability insurance.
CBC News Toronto
Near miss between drone and Porter Q400 injures two at Toronto Billy Bishop Airport
