Apache helicopter was deployed to help police track rogue drone near Stansted Airport

An Apache attack helicopter was used to track a rogue drone flying illegally close to Stansted airport, a report has revealed.

The gunship was one a pair of Army helicopters flying through the controlled traffic zone around the airport in Essex when both crews spotted the drone.

Air traffic controllers gave permission for one of the £35 million helicopters to turn back and monitor the drone while police tried to find the person flying it.

A report by the UK Airprox Board, which investigates near misses, said the Army pilots were able to see the drone again and reported its exact position.

They continued following the drone and monitored it for up to 30 minutes while in contact with police and controllers until it left the airport area.

The report said the drone was initially seen 1,200ft above the eastern threshold of the active runway at Stansted.

It added: ‘Essex Radar requested them to remain on scene with freedom of manoeuvre to provide assistance to the police in finding and tracking the object.

‘He remained visual in a right-hand orbit and climbed up through the level to 500ft above.

‘The drone remained largely static, climbing to about 2500ft and moving away slowly to the South East towards Great Dunmow.

‘The lead Apache remained on scene for about 30min until the object was assessed clear of the runway.’

The drone was said to have been the same height and just 150ft away horizontally from the closest Apache when it was first seen on the afternoon of September 15 this year.

The UKAB rated it as a Category C incident, saying it portrayed a situation where ‘safety had been reduced.’

But it concluded that there had been no risk of collision, although the pilots said there was a risk which they described as ‘low’.

It is believed that the operator of the drone was never identified.

Drones are banned from flying without permission within 2.5km radius of airports and an extended 5km area either end of each runway.

Anyone caught flying drones in the prohibited area could be jailed for up to five years if convicted of endangering an aircraft.

Drones must also not usually fly above a height of 400ft or out of the line of sight of their operators in the UK.

Experts have repeatedly warned of the danger posed by drones potentially smashing the windscreen of an aircraft or damaging its engine.

Earlier this year, an airliner came within three feet of smashing into a large drone in what is believed to be the UK’s closest near-miss between a passenger jet and an unmanned aircraft. 

The incredible close call involving an easyJet plane happened in daylight at a height of 8,000ft, shortly after it took off from Manchester Airport.

Both pilots of the Airbus A320 carrying up to 186 passengers on a flight to Athens saw the illegally flown drone as they hurtled towards it at a speed of 320mph.

The drone, which they estimated could have weighed 10kgs (22lbs), flashed past the right hand side of the cockpit where the junior First Officer pilot was sitting.

A report by the UK Airprox Board which investigates near misses rated it as the most dangerous Category A incident meaning there was a serious risk of collision.

The incident happened at around 3.20pm on September 4 this year, eight miles from the airport over the streets of Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

The number of near misses between aircraft and drones has soared dramatically in recent years as the devices have become more popular, leading to fears of a catastrophic accident.

Experts fear that an impact with a heavy drone could disable a jet engine or cause serious injury to pilots by smashing a jet’s windscreen. 

More than 140,000 passengers had their flights cancelled when drone sightings forced the closure of Gatwick in December 2018.