EasyJet plane came within 10ft of drone in one of the nearest ever misses involving an airliner

AN easyJet plane came within a few feet of a drone in one of the nearest ever misses involving an airliner, a report said.

The Airbus A320’s two pilots could pick out the framed structure below the device when it came into view at 16,000ft above the Kent coast.

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The plan’es first officer thought he heard a “thud” and feared the drone had hit the jet, which was flying from Gatwick to Rhodes with 180 passengers on board.

An inspection in Greece revealed no damage.

The pilots saw the “black and cylindrical” device heading towards them as they flew at 400mph about 20 miles west of Dover.

The “unidentified flying object” passed “directly underneath” the aircraft at 16,000ft — 40 times the usual maximum permitted drone flight height of 400ft.

The captain told air traffic controllers: “We very nearly just hit a drone. We’re…