Drones in near midair collisions with planes at major U.S airports an increasing danger, AP analysis shows
CBSN
Washington — A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco's international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late "to take evasive action," the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away.
A month earlier, a jetliner was flying at an altitude of 4,000 feet near Miami's international airport when its pilots reported a "close encounter" with a drone. In August, a drone came within 50 feet of clipping the left wing of a passenger jet as it departed Newark International Airport.
The incidents were all classified as "near midair collisions" - any one of which could have had catastrophic consequences, according to aviation safety experts. They were also not isolated encounters.
