“#THAMESPLANE”; DROWNED BY DRONES.

A tranquil afternoon in Rainham, Kent, is disturbed when a US Airways commercial plane (US132) crashes shortly onto the nearby Thames. The cause of the crash was later confirmed by the British Transport Police to be a result of collision with two drones 1500 metres east of London City Airport, from where the plane departed. Dubbed later as “#ThamesPlane” by Twitter users, the US132 pilot had reported engine failures and made the executive decision to emergency land safely onto the river, their heroism resulting in 0 casualties at the scene.

With the help of the RNLI and the Thames River Police, there was a prompt evacuation of the scene, with only two minor injuries to report for all 48 people onboard. One passenger, namely Nadine Johnson (@nadine63287412) emerged from the scene, and tweets that the pilot is a “legend” from the wing of the aircraft, floating upon the Thames like a sitting duck. All passengers and crew sought refuge in the nearby nature reserve, Purfleet Heritage & Military Centre (@PurfleetHMC) as the charity run reserve opened their doors, and their hearts, to the survivors of the unforeseen accident. They were welcomed onshore with free WiFi, food and drink, and a warm place to rest and call their loved ones.

All emergency services were alerted to the scene, shortly after the initial response from an unknown passer-by on Twitter. One passenger was taken to Queens Hospital, Romford with a suspected heart attack, but was released that evening; they had suffered indigestion, not a heart problem. Arrangements were made to get passengers home or back to London City Airport for onward journey by the Essex Police.