Drone Over Brooklyn Could Be Remote Controlled Plane: Reports

Drone Over Brooklyn

There was another drone sighting in New York.

A flight crew on a commercial airline reported seeing an unmanned drone aircraft before landing at JFK airport on Monday.

The pilot identified that the aircraft was 200 feet away from the large airliner.

According to a report from CNN, the aircraft was reported by the FBI as being about three feet wide. The FBI and FAA do not know who was the owner or the operator of the aircraft and both are investigating the incident.

“The FBI is asking anyone with information about the unmanned aircraft or the operator to contact us,” said Special Agent in Charge John Giacalone. “Our paramount concern is the safety of aircraft passengers and crew.”

These small types of radio controlled planes are available through many hobby stores and electronics outlets.

Forbes writes:

Assuming the Alitalia pilot wasn’t simply mistaken and saw something like a runaway Mylar balloon, the most likely explanation is that he spotted a recreational remote-controlled model aircraft, and mistook it for an unmanned drone. Many “toy” planes are capable of reaching altitudes far in excess of 1,500 feet, and some of them are quite large. Some RC companies even sell models that look just like the Predator drones used by the U.S. military. FAA regulations limit model planes to a maximum flight altitude of 400 feet, but it’s not hard to imagine an RC fan flaunting that limit.

While they are legal to own and operator, they are not permitted to be flown at any height above 400 feet.

They also must notify the FAA if they are flying their remote controlled planes near the airport. In recent years the FAA has also been developing ways to better control the usage of such drones.

Predator Drones Over Brooklyn? Not So Fast
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2013/03/05/predator-drones-over-brooklyn-not-so-fast/