A helicopter pilot says he was almost hit by a remote-controlled plane near John F. Kennedy Airport – the second close call reported on Monday.
“Just almost ran into a gigantic RC airplane right over there at Floyd Bennett,” he told air traffic controllers. “…A big one, at 500 feet.”
The FAA said it is aware of reports that a helicopter pilot reported a remote-controlled plane flying close to it and has notified local authorities. The agency is not investigating at this time.
Earlier in the day, a JetBlue flight was hit by a drone while landing at JFK Airport.
According to the JetBlue pilot, the incident occurred at around 3,000 feet during the airline’s approach to the runway. The plane landed safely, and JetBlue says there was no damage.
The FAA and the FBI are investigating.
This all comes after another close call at Newark on Friday.
The FAA says it gets more than 100 complaints a month of unmanned aircrafts in airspace they shouldn’t be in, which is exactly why it launched a public safety campaign just this month.
“The fact is that people are still not following the rules and all it takes is one to end up wrecking an engine or impacting a cockpit,” said ABC News contributor and aviation expert John Nance.
Nance says because drones can’t be detected unless they’re physically seen, the distraction alone can be dangerous, since that can happen too late to avoid it.
“Drones simply do not carry transponders,” he said. “It has to do with the weight and the amount of equipment that you put on board. But the fact is, that makes it even more important that nobody operates one in the wrong place, close to an airport, especially at 3,000 feet.”
It is a federal crime to interfere with the operation of an aircraft, with penalties of up to $100,000. Flying a drone near an airport is considered exactly that, and the FAA encourages anyone who witnesses someone doing this to report it.
In a statement, the FBI asked the public to report incidents of unsafe drone flights to 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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