This article originally stated that the pilot said the aircraft hit a drone; United said at the time that the pilot had reported a possible drone strike. The FAA and United later said the jet had, rather, encountered a drone on approach — Ed.
Flight and ground crews had some scary moments Wednesday when a commercial aircraft reported striking a drone while getting ready to land at San Diego International Airport.
The incident involved a Boeing 737 jumbo jet operated by United Airlines, officials said.
In a separate statement, United said, “There’s no indication that the aircraft struck the drone or vice-versa.”
United Flight 1980 took off from San Francisco International at about 7:14 a.m. and reportedly the incident shortly before it landed a bit before 8:30 a.m. Officials with the airlines confirmed the incident later in the morning:
“United Flight 1980 reported a possible drone strike just prior to arriving in San Diego. The flight landed safely, and customers deplaned normally at the gate. Our maintenance team found no damage after thoroughly inspecting the aircraft.”
Later in the afternoon, United released a revised statement, deleting the word “strike.”
United also said that there were 48 passengers and 6 crew members on board during the incident.
According to a transmission recorded and tweeted out by TheNewArea51 between the control tower and the aircraft, somebody aboard the aircraft reported hitting a drone at around 3,000 feet.
“We hit a drone at around, probably around 3,000 feet,” a member of the flight crew can be heard saying.
The flight crew had few details when questioned by the air-traffic controller.
“It was so small, I couldn’t tell,” the United Airlines cabin responded, seemingly unperturbed by the incident. “It was red. It was shiny. I couldn’t tell with it.”
Later in the day, however, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor released the following statement:
“While approaching San Diego International Airport at about 4,000 feet altitude, the crew of United Airlines Flight 1980 told air traffic control they believed they saw a drone 1,000 feet below them. Air traffic control alerted other pilots but did not receive any additional drone-sighting reports. Please contact United about their post-flight inspection of the aircraft.”
According to FAA regulations, drones can’t be flown above 400 feet without authorization from the FAA, nor can they be flown, ever, in restricted airspace anywhere, including near airports.
On Wednesday afternoon, FBI San Diego confirmed they were investigating the incident:
“FBI San Diego is aware of reports of an alleged drone flying approximately 12 miles from San Diego International Airport this morning.
“At this time there are no safety concerns for the public. While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to evaluate the situation.
“If there is a violation of federal law within the FBI’s authorities, we will follow the facts wherever they may lead. As this is an ongoing matter, we do not have anything further.
“If you have any information about this incident, we encourage you to report it to FBI San Diego at 858-320-1800 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov, tips can remain anonymous.”