A Wing And A Prayer: Planes That Almost Crashed

Air France Has Near Collision with Drone

A drone versus plane incident also took place in France. An Airbus A320 plane was beginning its descent over Paris when the pilot detected a drone flying too close. He was forced to disengage the autopilot and move out of the way from the drone. The France’s BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyse) investigated the incident, calling the “near collision” incident “serious.”

The law prohibits drones from flying higher than 150 feet, so part of the investigation involved how and why the drone was in a “no-fly zone.” The BEA also recently investigated the presence of 16 drones in the airspace around French nuclear power plants. While no suspects were arrested in the case, evidence suggests that the prank may have been carried out in order to raise awareness about security issues around nuclear power plants.

FAA Reports on Incidents of US Plane vs. Drone

As the last two incidents with drones and airplanes clearly illustrate, there are serious problems with drone incursions into the flight path of planes. The FAA has also documented hundreds of incidents in the US. In all, some 12 drone episodes were recorded in one day alone, and it happened all over the country including New Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina.

That included incidents of interference with airplanes and coming too close to the airports. While most of those incidents were “probably nothing” and easily resolved, you can see why the UK was exploring a drone-tracking system. In some sense, flying devices in general, and drones inparticular,are more pervasive than ever, also representing a real and present danger.