A United Airlines domestic flight carrying 54 people recently may have collided with a drone at around 3,000 feet while preparing to land. Fortunately, the plane landed safely, all onboard were unharmed, and the aircraft sustained no damage.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the incident.
The FAA stated that no other pilots reported anything related at the time, and an in-depth investigation is underway.
The incident occurred on the morning of April 29 local time. United Airlines flight 1980, a Boeing 737, was traveling from San Francisco to San Diego. About 90 minutes into the flight, as the plane was preparing to land, the pilot suddenly reported to air traffic control that at around 3,000 to 4,000 feet, the plane may have collided with a "small, red, and shiny" object in the air.
According to audio recordings, a few minutes before the incident, the pilot had checked with the tower to see if any other pilots had reported anything unusual, and mentioned seeing a small red object about 1,000 feet below the right side of the plane.
United Airlines later issued a statement confirming that the crew had reported a suspected drone encounter and that the flight landed safely, with all 48 passengers and 6 crew members disembarking normally.
The airline emphasized that a thorough inspection of the aircraft found no signs of damage.
According to regulations, unless specially authorized, the maximum altitude for civil drones is 400 feet, and they must avoid restricted areas such as those around airports.