FAA Investigating Report of Drone Spotted Near NYC

The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday they are investigating a pilot's report that he spotted a small unmanned aircraft near Kennedy Airport.

The Alitalia pilot told controllers that he saw the aircraft as he approached the runway at Kennedy at about 1:15 p.m. Monday. The pilot said the aircraft was 4 to 5 miles southeast of the airport and was flying at an altitude of about 1,500 feet.

The pilot reported that the aircraft was about 1 meter long, an FBI spokesman said.

The pilot can be heard on radio calls captured by LiveATC.net, a website that posts air traffic communications, saying, "We saw a drone, a drone aircraft."

The FAA said the pilot did not take evasive action and the plane landed safely.

It's unclear what the small aircraft was. Some remote-controlled planes flown by hobbyists are longer than 1 meter. Under FAA rules, model planes are restricted to altitudes of 400 feet or less.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
 

Tweet