United Airlines flight narrowly misses drone in 'near-collision' at airport
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A United Airlines plane narrowly avoided a collision with a drone during landing.
The jet was approaching the runway at Newark Airport, New Jersey, at around 4.20pm local time (9.20pm BST) on Friday when it flew over the device, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
In a call to air traffic control, the pilot said: ‘We almost hit a drone,’ adding the drone was only ‘about 100 feet below us’.
The Boeing 737 was carrying 106 passengers from Key West in Florida and had five crew members on board at the time.
The plane fortunately managed to avoid hitting the drone and landed safely.
In a statement, United Airlines said: ‘United flight 1513 reported a potential drone sighting prior to arriving in Newark.
In a separate call, another pilot flying into Newark reported seeing the drone flying at around 2,000ft.
The FAA said it is investigating the incident.
More than 100 drone sightings near airports are reported to the agency every month. Flying a drone in a controlled airspace without authorisation is illegal in the US and can be punishable with jail time.
In the UK, the flying of drones is banned within five kilometres of an airport. This has been the case since March 2019, when the size of ‘no-fly zones’ around airports was increased.
Then-aviation minister Liz Sugg said: ‘Flying drones illegally puts others at risk both in the air and on the ground, so it’s vital they are used safely.
‘The majority of people using drones want to do so responsibly, so we have expanded a national campaign to ensure they know the rules – and the penalties.’
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