A commercial airplane was nearing its final descent into San Francisco International Airport in November when the pilots noticed a drone perilously close to the cockpit window. The unmanned aerial vehicle was so close that the pilots could not take evasive action, and the quadcopter zipped past just 300 feet away. This alarming incident followed an earlier report in October near Miami’s airport, where a jet encountered a similar close call at 4,000 feet altitude. In August, another drone narrowly avoided colliding with a passenger jet’s wing shortly after takeoff from Newark International Airport.
All these reports have been categorized as “near midair collisions,” a dangerous class of incidents that pose significant threats according to aviation safety experts. Unfortunately, these encounters are not uncommon. An examination of an aviation safety database showed drones were involved in almost two-thirds of reported near-collisions with commercial planes at the nation’s busiest airports last year. This marked the highest occurrence of such incidents since 2020, a period when air travel was reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first drone-related near-miss events were recorded in 2014, and the subsequent years have seen a dramatic increase. Over the past decade, drones were attributed to 51% of the reported near misses, significantly impacting airline safety. Passenger planes around airports have always faced risks, whether from birds or other airspace congestion. This was notably highlighted by a tragic collision in January that involved a military helicopter and a commercial jet, claiming 67 lives near Washington, D.C.
Drone usage has surged over the last decade, heightening the urgency of this issue. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates over a million drones are used recreationally and commercially across the U.S. “If you have the money,” says William Waldock, a safety science professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “you can buy a drone capable of reaching dangerous altitudes.”
The situation is particularly acute near airports, where flight paths frequently intersect. However, the reported close calls might only be a fraction of the actual number because NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System relies on voluntary reports from pilots. Meanwhile, an FAA program also documents public drone sightings, with at least 160 instances last month near airports.
Recognizing the urgency, the FAA has implemented various measures to minimize drone-related risks. Drones are generally prohibited near airports unless authorized, although awareness and enforcement remain challenging. Registration is required for drones over 250 grams, which must also carry a transponder to help prevent collisions. Further, the FAA has been piloting systems that detect and mitigate drone threats around airports, exploring the use of radio signals, microwaves, or lasers to neutralize threatening drones.
Experts suggest additional measures, like systems similar to speed cameras that could log a drone’s transponder data and issue penalties to operators flouting the rules. They also propose “geofencing,” which uses GPS technology to prevent drones from entering sensitive zones like airports, although current regulation doesn’t mandate such measures.
One of the largest drone manufacturers, DJI, had previously implemented geofencing but scrapped it for less intrusive alerts, responding to overwhelming requests from authorized users wanting temporary disablement. Adam Welsh, DJI’s head of global policy, mentioned the impracticality of managing millions of such requests, leading to the policy change. As a result, the FAA is not currently pursuing mandatory geofencing.
Law enforcement authorities are urged to act more decisively against violators. Recent arrests, such as the apprehension of two men flying a drone dangerously close to Boston’s Logan International Airport, underscore the seriousness of these breaches. Law enforcement tracked these operators using the drone’s FAA-required transponder.
In another case, a drone collided with a plane battling wildfires in Southern California. This not only punctured a hole in the aircraft’s wing, grounding it for repairs, but also resulted in the drone operator facing federal charges after pleading guilty. Despite FAA restrictions in place, he had sent his drone to observe fire damage, losing sight of it as it struck the aircraft.