  As a consequence of the large (and growing) number of near-Earth objects
discovered, some of them are lost before their orbit can be firmly established
to ensure long-term recovery. A fraction of these present non-negligible
chances of impact with the Earth. We present a method of targeted observations
that allowed us to eliminate that risk by obtaining deep images of the area
where the object would be, should it be on a collision orbit. 2006 QV89 was one
of these objects, with a chance of impact with the Earth on 2019 September 9.
Its position uncertainty (of the order of 1 degree) and faintness (below
V$\sim$24) made it a difficult candidate for a traditional direct recovery.
However, the position of the virtual impactors could be determined with
excellent accuracy. In July 2019, the virtual impactors of 2006 QV89 were
particularly well placed, with a very small uncertainty region, and an expected
magnitude of V$<$26. The area was imaged using ESO's Very Large Telescope, in
the context of the ESA/ESO collaboration on Near-Earth Objects, resulting in
very constraining a non-detection. This resulted in the elimination of the
virtual impactor, even without effectively recovering 2006 QV89, indicating
that it did not represent a threat. This method of deep non-detection of
virtual impactors demonstrated a large potential to eliminate the threat of
other-wise difficult to recover near-Earth objects
