Lufthansa jumbo and drone in near collision as plane approached Los Angeles International Airport

THE pilot of a Lufthansa passenger jumbo jet has reported a drone nearly collided with the airliner on its landing approach to Los Angeles Airport.

Drone generic pic. For story about drone privacy/ drone incident.

THE pilot of a Lufthansa passenger jumbo jet reported a drone aircraft nearly collided with the airliner on its landing approach to Los Angeles International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration says.

The close encounter between the wide-body, four-engine Airbus A380 and the drone occurred on Saturday at an altitude of 152 metres as the unmanned aircraft passed about 61 metres over the Lufthansa flight 22.5km east of the airport, the FAA said.

The incident comes just after reports emerged of the crash of a plane attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. All 61 people on board the flydubai flight from the UAE died.

The incident is likely to increase the calls for tighter regulation of drones.

No evasive action was taken by the airline crew, and the plane, Lufthansa Flight 456, safely made its landing minutes later without further incident, according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

The FAA immediately alerted the Los Angeles Police Department’s air support division.

The number of passengers and crew aboard the plane was not reported by authorities, nor was the flight’s origin.

US senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who has introduced legislation to require new safety features on drones, pointed to the close call as an example of the hazards posed to commercial aviation by unregulated drone activity.

US Senator Dianne Feinstein. Picture: (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

“This is one more incident that could have brought down an airliner, and it’s completely unacceptable,” she said.

Federal regulations generally bar drone aircraft and model planes from flying higher than 122 metres or within 8km of an airport without first contacting air traffic control and airport authorities. Operators also must keep their drones away from other aircraft and groups of people.