An aircraft travelling from Prague to Warsaw abandoned its landing approach at Warsaw Chopin Airport on 13 November after a drone appeared in its approach path. The plane climbed again before eventually returning for a successful landing, according to European Pravda, which cited reporting by Polish outlet Wirtualna Polska.
The aircraft was already flying at a low altitude and preparing to touch down when the drone was spotted. Its unexpected presence prompted the pilot to abruptly halt the descent and gain altitude. The captain told passengers that the decision to discontinue the landing had been taken immediately because an unmanned aerial vehicle was in the approach path.
Following the interrupted descent, the aircraft spent some time in a holding pattern over Warsaw. The crew later began a second approach to the airport and completed the landing successfully. The report describes the drone encounter during the first approach, followed by the aircraft's climb, holding pattern and eventual return to land.
Warsaw airport spokesperson Piotr Rudzki confirmed the incident in comments to Wirtualna Polska. He said the response was a standard procedure and that flight safety had not been compromised. Rudzki also said flights were operating normally, indicating that the airport continued its regular operations despite the interrupted approach by the aircraft arriving from Prague.
Polish law allows a prison term of up to five years for creating an immediate risk of an aviation disaster. A court can also impose a substantial financial penalty amounting to tens of thousands of Polish złotys. For comparison, 10,000 złotys is equivalent to approximately US$2,500. Those penalties concern the creation of an immediate aviation disaster risk.
The report also cited an earlier drone incident in Germany. On 15 September, an unidentified drone crashed one kilometre from a Bundeswehr air base. The drone's owner and its point of origin remained unclear, leaving unanswered the questions of who it belonged to and where it had come from.
In a separate development included in the report's background, Germany on 1 September directly accused Russia of carrying out a hybrid attack at Leipzig airport in early August. Germany also announced countermeasures in response to that incident.
