The Drones are Coming Here

A tiny aircraft, too small to carry a person, flashes past your left wing. You never saw it; neither did ATC. You just had a near miss with a drone.There are large, heavy commercial and military drones capable of flying in the flight levels. Then, there are little drones that range from toys up to Amazons proposed single-package delivery device. While similar, each presents different challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• Drones, both small and large, present a growing safety risk to manned aircraft due to visibility issues, operator non-compliance, and significant challenges in ATC coordination and regulatory enforcement.
• The current low risk of mid-air collision is unsustainable given the increasing number of drones and the difficulty in regulating anonymous, often unlicensed operators.
• The article advocates for the FAA to proactively implement strong, electronically enforceable restrictions (e.g., geofencing, ADS-B Out) through political pressure, rather than waiting for a catastrophic incident to force action.

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