Drones and Airplanes Are Almost Colliding More Often Than Ever
Most people understand that flying, statistically, is the safest way to travel. But most of us also understand that the thought of screaming through the sky in a metal tube is inherently terrifying. And the onslaught of recreational drones making their way into American airspace isn’t helping.
In just the last six months, 25 near-collisions between drones and airplanes have been reported, according to Federal Aviation Administration documents obtained by “The Washington Post.’’ And the truly unsettling news is that those incidents aren’t just being reported by casual pilots flying single-engine planes – some of these close calls are affecting commercial airliners.
The Post reported that most of the incidents took place near New York and Washington and occurred as high up as 4,000 feet – 10 times higher than recreational drones are legally allowed to fly. The list of examples included near-run-ins with flights from Republic Airlines, US Airways, and United Airlines.
Of course, if you’re looking for ways to fuel your nerves even more this holiday travel season, you should know that just because a drone wasn’t close to hitting a plane, it doesn’t mean the drone wasn’t there. Those 25 near-misses are just a small sample of the drones flying troublingly close to our airports.
From The Post:
The 25 near-midair collisions were among more than 175 incidents in which pilots and air-traffic controllers have reported seeing drones near airports or in restricted airspace since June. Pilots described most of the rogue drones as small, camera-equipped models that have become increasingly popular with hobbyists and photographers.
Although such drones often measure only a few feet in diameter and weigh less than 10 pounds, aviation safety experts say they could easily trigger an accident by striking another plane’s propeller or getting sucked into a jet engine.
“The potential for catastrophic damage is certainly there,’’ said Fred Roggero, a retired Air Force major general who was in charge of aviation safety investigations for the service and now serves as a consultant to companies seeking to fly drones commercially.
That’s right: Nearly 200 drones have been caught toying around near our airports. We know that flying is still probably the safest way to visit Mom and Dad for Christmas, but you’ll have to forgive us if we change our plans to avoid having our trip ruined by an idiot with a quadcopter.
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