Pilots report seeing drones near JFK Airport
An investigation has begun after reports of unmanned drones flying close to passenger planes at New York JFK Airport.
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said pilots on Delta Air Lines 838, a Boeing 737, and Virgin Atlantic 9, a Boeing 747, reported seeing drones at altitudes of 2,000 and 3,000 feet while they were landing at the airport on Sunday night.
Another pilot of a JetBlue Airbus 320 spotted a drone about two miles from a different runway at JFK yesterday afternoon (Wednesday).
The FAA said none of the pilots had to take action to avoid the drones and all three flights landed safely.
It is currently setting regulations for the commercial use of drones, which could potentially cause a major safety hazard.
If a drone gets sucked into a jet engine, experts say it could cause even more damage than a bird.
Earlier this week, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that small drones are a type of aircraft and therefore should be subject to existing FAA rules.
This means the FAA can take action if owners use the machines recklessly.
The drone sightings come after an NYPD helicopter pilot reported a near-miss with a drone over Brooklyn on September 17.
In the same month, NBC New York reported that Russian tourist was arrested after he was allegedly caught operating a drone around the city’s Brooklyn Bridge.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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