By Josh Funk
The Associated Press
June 29, 2026 - 12:44 pm
A JetBlue aviator reported hitting a drone arsenic helium approached JFK International Airport to onshore successful New York Monday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incidental that happened arsenic the level passed done 3,000 feet (914 meters) astir 7:15 a.m. arsenic it was crossing the coastline. The level landed safely without immoderate further help, and nary harm was recovered erstwhile the level was inspected afterwards.
“We collided with a drone backmost determination successful the turn,” the aviator told an aerial postulation controller, according to ATC.com. “It deed america close supra the cockpit.”
The hose said each the passengers deplaned normally, and past the level was removed from work truthful it could beryllium inspected. JetBlue said the hose “found nary harm oregon grounds of a collision.” The Airbus A321 level was flying overnight into New York from Las Vegas.
“Safety is JetBlue’s archetypal priority, and we volition assistance with immoderate applicable investigations,” the hose said successful a statement.
Drones are mostly allowed to alert beneath 400 feet (122 meters), but the FAA does restrict airspace astir airports and nationalist events similar the World Cup due to the fact that of information concerns. Law enforcement officials accidental that adjacent erstwhile a drone aviator is conscionable trying to sprout an overhead video, their beingness distracts officers from dealing with different imaginable threats.
Incident reports collected by the FAA amusement that drones are a increasing menace astir airports. The hazard of a collision is astir acute adjacent airports due to the fact that that is wherever the formation paths of drones and airplanes astir overlap.
The FAA said that much than 100 drone sightings are reported adjacent airports each period that the bureau works with instrumentality enforcement to investigate. Drone operators that interruption restricted airspace tin look important fines and adjacent suffer their licence oregon person their drones confiscated.
The decease and demolition drones person caused connected the battlefields of the Ukraine and Iran wars has officials progressively acrophobic astir the menace drones pose.
Sometimes an archetypal study from an hose aviator astir a adjacent brushwood with a drone doesn’t ever crook retired to beryllium an existent collision aft officials investigate. In April, the FAA was capable to find that a drone passed astir 1,000 feet (305 meters) beneath a United Airlines level arsenic it came into San Diego and did not onslaught the plane.
English (US)·