Washington, DC
A JetBlue Airways passenger jet reported hitting a drone on Monday while making ready to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned.
The pilot aboard JetBlue Flight 948 reported the strike at roughly 3,000 toes in altitude while on closing strategy to the runway round 7:15 a.m. native time on Monday, the FAA instructed NCS in a press release.
“We are clear to land, 13 left,” the pilot instructed the tower in audio recorded by ATC.com. “Just quickly, I couldn’t talk to approach, but we collided with a drone back there in the turn.”
“You said you collided?” the controller requested.
The pilot confirmed, “Yep, it hit us right, right above the cockpit.”
The Airbus A321 was arriving from Las Vegas and safely landed minutes later at 7:21 a.m.
The plane was simply north of the seaside group of Sea Bright, roughly 10 to 12 miles away from JFK, at the time of the suspected strike, in accordance with knowledge from Flightradar24.
In a press release, JetBlue confirmed the flight landed with out additional incident.
“Customers deplaned normally and the plane was removed from service for a post-flight inspection, which found no damage or evidence of a collision,” the airline mentioned. “Safety is JetBlue’s first priority, and we will assist with any relevant investigations.”
The FAA is investigating the incident.
If confirmed, it could possibly be one of many first identified collisions between a drone and a US industrial passenger aircraft.
Drones have, nevertheless, hit different plane. In January 2025, a civilian drone struck a CL-415 “Super Scooper” battling the Los Angeles wildfires, punching a gap within the wing, forcing the plane out of service and main federal authorities to prosecute the drone operator.
Some different suspected strikes have turned out to be harm from birds or mechanical issues.
Drones are prohibited from flying round airports, nevertheless, the FAA receives about 100 reports of sightings a month.
Last week, a United Airlines pilot reported practically colliding with one as his aircraft was coming in to land at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Drone flights are additionally typically restricted round emergency response operations, jails, wildfires and main gatherings, together with the present World Cup video games.
Unauthorized operators are topic to stiff fines and legal costs, together with doable jail time, the FAA mentioned.