Pilot tells of near-miss with UFO near Heathrow Airport

The captain claimed the ‘metallic’ bright silver ‘cigar/rugby ball-like’ UFO came within a few feet of his A320 Airbus.

He spotted the object travelling towards the jet out of a left-hand side cockpit window.

The close encounter took place about 20 miles west of Heathrow, although the Airbus is not believed to have taken off from the airport.

A report into the incident states: ‘He (the pilot) was under the apprehension that they were on collision course with no time to react.

‘His immediate reaction was to duck to the right and reach over to alert the FO (first officer); there was no time to talk to alert him.

‘The captain was fully expecting to experience some kind of impact with a conflicting aircraft.’

The near miss happened near Heathrow Airport (Picture: EPA)

Immediately after the incident the pilot checked the aircraft’s instruments and reported it to air traffic control but there was no sign of the UFO.

Meteorological balloons and other aircraft in the area were all ruled out during an investigation by the UK Airprox Board, which looks into near misses in British airspace.

The report found that it was ‘not possible to trace the object or determine the likely cause of the sighting’, which took place at about 6:30pm on July 13 last year.

Dr David Clarke, the UFO consultant for the National Archives, told the Telegraph: ‘This latest sighting is interesting, because it is detailed and clear. These pilots don’t file these reports for something and nothing. There was obviously something there.’

The Ministry of Defence closed its UFO desk and hotline in 2009.