The brink of disaster was avoided in the sky: The mystery of the mysterious object could not be solved

British Airways' Boeing 777 passenger plane had a dangerous encounter with an unidentified object after taking off from London Heathrow Airport.

Details of the incident that took place on June 24, 2026, near Guildford in Surrey, England, were revealed by the report of the UK Airprox Board.

The plane heading to New York continued its flight after the incident and delivered its passengers safely to their destination.

According to the official report, while the Boeing 777 continued to rise at an altitude of approximately 1,768 meters, it encountered a bright, silver object coming from the opposite direction.

The pilot reported that the extremely fast-moving object passed near the right wing of the plane and was approximately 15 meters above the flight altitude.

The pilot contacted the air traffic control center and described the object as metallic and reflecting light.

'IT WAS THE SIZE OF FOUR TOASTERS'

When asked by the air traffic controller about the size of the object, the pilot said that the object was approximately the size of 'four toasters'.

The flight crew assessed that the object might be a drone. However, this assessment made during the first observation could not be confirmed in the examinations.

The close proximity reported by the pilot created serious concern for flight safety.

Following the incident, an investigation was launched by the UK Aerial Close Encounters Investigation Board.

Security experts from NATS, which provides air traffic services, examined the radar records of the minutes when the incident occurred.

However, no radar signature could be found that could be associated with the object described by the pilot.

The Board concluded that information regarding the object's altitude and physical characteristics was not sufficient to determine the nature of the object.

SERIOUS COLLISION RISK ASSESSMENT FROM EXPERTS

Aviation experts announced that although the identity of the object could not be determined, the incident posed a serious risk for flight safety.

The UK Airprox Board assessed the incident in category A, the highest crash risk class.

In the board's report, it was stated that luck may have played an important role in the collision not occurring or that there was a definite danger of a collision.

It had previously been reported that suspicious unmanned aerial vehicles were seen near planes in British airspace.

Authorities continue to examine the risks posed by unmanned aerial vehicles and unidentified objects coming dangerously close to aircraft.