Drone near-misses with piloted aircraft surge in US airspace – watchdog
Pilots and air-traffic controllers have reported a sharp rise in near-collisions with drones in the past six months, the Washington Post reports, citing Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) records.
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Since June 1, drones “came within a few seconds or a few feet
of crashing into much larger aircraft” 25 times, FAA records
showed. Pilots also reported spotting drones in restricted
airspace more than 175 times.
The data was released following numerous public-records requests
by the Washington Post and other news organizations.
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helicopter, two arrested
Most of the near-collisions were reported during takeoff and
landings at America’s busiest international airports, with a
large number of sightings concentrated in New York.
The new revelations highlight that unmanned aerial vehicles pose
a greater threat than previously thought. Prior to the records
being made public, FAA mentioned only one near-collision around
Tallahassee, Florida, which took place on March 22 and involved a
US Airways regional airliner.
According to the records, eight of the close misses happened in
September and five in November. The latest one was on November 19
and involved “a Life Flight V helicopter” that was
“descending to the Schuylkill County airport,” FAA
records show. A nurse saw “a drone flying toward the aircraft
‘at a high rate of closure.’ Pilot made an evasive right bank
turn, missing the drone by 50 to 100 feet.”
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The closest a drone came to an airplane was 10 feet on November
16 in New York, when a Delta Airlines Boeing 737 on Flight 838
was descending toward John F. Kennedy International Airport.
“The Delta pilot reports that the drone came within 10 feet
of his left wing,” the FAA records state.
Earlier in November, the US National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) ruled that the FAA has the authority to apply its standing
rules against alleged reckless or careless use of manned aircraft
to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones.
READ MORE: In groundbreaking ruling, FAA
empowered to enforce regulations against drones
