Bad news for those who might need to fly into or out of the New York area anytime soon: People are still getting a kick out of flying drones around our airports. At least three drones were spotted buzzing above JFK last week, despite the FAA’s attempts to scare unmanned-aircraft pilots away from their commercial counterparts. And over the weekend, crew members on four flights saw a drone as they approached Newark.
From CBS 2: “The pilots flying commercial planes for ExpressJet, Northwest and two United flights all reported seeing the drone between eight and 13 miles from the airport Sunday afternoon, dangerously close to the aircraft, the FAA said.” “Each plane was approaching Newark Liberty International Airport at altitudes between 2,000 and 3,000 feet when the drone was spotted,” reports NBC New York. “The encounters occurred just after noon.”
Luckily, none of the pilots were forced to take “evasive action” and everyone landed safely. Still, this seems like a good time to remind everyone flying a drone near a big-boy aircraft that it’s illegal, and people do sometimes get arrested for it. Take it to the White House next time.
