As drones become more and more popular and affordable, it’s a thought that’s occurred to many: Are they a threat to air traffic?
Most recreational drones can’t get nearly high enough to interfere with a commercial jet’s flight path, but when planes are taking off or landing, they’re certainly vulnerable. Such fears came true on Monday morning at John F. Kennedy Airport when a pilot aboard a JetBlue flight arriving from Las Vegas reported that they’d smacked into a drone when they were at about 3,000 feet.
Thankfully, the flight was able to land safely, and there were no injuries, but it reminds us that events like these could have been more serious. The drone struck just above the cockpit, according to the pilot, but what if it had smacked right into the window?
The impressively calm pilot revealed the collision at the 14-second mark of this clip:
A JetBlue Airways pilot reported hitting a drone as the flight was on approach for landing at JFK Airport on Monday morning. The plane, which was coming from Las Vegas, landed safely, and the airline and FAA said no damage or evidence of collision was found during the post-flight… pic.twitter.com/vH8SY8UAIp
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 29, 2026
A JetBlue Airways pilot reported hitting a drone as the flight was on approach for landing at JFK Airport on Monday morning. The plane, which was coming from Las Vegas, landed safely, and the airline and FAA said no damage or evidence of collision was found during the post-flight inspections. The agency will investigate the incident, it noted in its statement.
The incident comes just after a flight landing in nearby Newark Airport almost had its own collision:
The federal agency receives more than 100 drone-sighting reports near airports each month, which can cause dangerous consequences.
Unauthorized operators are subject to fines and criminal charges, including possible jail time.
Monday’s incident comes after a United Airlines Boeing 737 carrying 106 passengers and five crew members from Key West, Florida, came within feet of a drone during its descent at the New Jersey airport Friday afternoon.
“We almost hit a drone,” the pilot can be heard saying in air traffic control audio verified by CNN.
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The JFK JetBlue plane luckily suffered no apparent damage, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. They have not confirmed that the collision actually took place.
FAA Statement
The pilot of JetBlue Airlines Flight 948 reported striking a drone at approximately 3,000 feet altitude while on final approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport around 7:15 a.m. local time on Monday, June 29. A post-flight inspection did not reveal any…— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) June 29, 2026
FAA Statement
The pilot of JetBlue Airlines Flight 948 reported striking a drone at approximately 3,000 feet altitude while on final approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport around 7:15 a.m. local time on Monday, June 29. A post-flight inspection did not reveal any damage to the aircraft. The FAA will investigate. Contact the airline for more information.
This information is preliminary and subject to change.
Although this incident is concerning, thankfully, it all worked out in the end. Many airports have installed countermeasures to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), and federal law enforcement has available detection devices and technology to “disrupt, disable, destroy, take control of, and/or provide alternate flight instructions.” It’s unclear if JFK has a detection system, and if so, why this drone wasn’t detected.
What is clear is that we’ll have to keep relentlessly staying one step ahead to keep our skies safe.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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