United Airlines pilot reports possible drone strike 3,000 feet over San Diego
A United Airlines pilot arriving in San Diego on Wednesday morning reported encountering a drone hundreds of feet within the air because the airplane approached the airport, in accordance with airport tower audio.
United flight 1980 departed from San Francisco International Airport at 6:53 am and flew roughly 90 minutes earlier than touchdown at San Diego International at 8:28 am But because the Boeing 737 approached the airport in San Diego, the pilot reported to the tower that the airplane had presumably hit a drone whereas flying at about 3,000 feet.
According to recordings of the dialog between the pilot and the tower reviewed by The Times, the pilot tells floor management that it occurred on the “base leg” of the flight, typically when the airplane flies perpendicular to the runway because it prepares to land.
The air site visitors controller asks him for extra particulars: “Do you have like approximate size or how many engines or style or anything like that?”
“It was so small I couldn’t tell,” the pilot responds. “It was red… it was shiny.”
Minutes earlier, the pilot radioed in to workers on the tower, SoCal Approach, asking if a drone was close to that location. “Not that I’m aware,” the controller responds.
“I believe I just saw like a red small object… about 1,000 feet below us to our right,” the pilot says.
Air site visitors management alerted different pilots however didn’t obtain any extra reports of a drone within the space, in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration. The airplane, which was carrying 48 passengers and 6 crew members, landed safely.
A spokesperson for the FAA mentioned it’s investigating.
Pilots are prohibited from working drones above 400 feet altitude except they’ve authorization from the FAA. Drone pilots should additionally keep away from restricted airspace, together with the airspace round airports, in accordance with FAA rules.
It was not instantly clear if the drone really collided with the plane. The airline’s upkeep workforce “found no damage after thoroughly inspecting the aircraft,” United Airlines mentioned in a press release to The Times.
The airplane departed San Diego at 10:16 am and is scheduled to reach in Houston on Wednesday afternoon, in accordance with Flightaware.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.
