Drone Sightings Surge at JFK: Helicopter Reports Close Call After JetBlue Incident

On Monday afternoon, a helicopter pilot reportedly encountered a possible drone near New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. This marks the second occurrence of such an incident at the airport that day.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “A pilot operating a helicopter in close proximity to John F. Kennedy International Airport reported that a remote-controlled aircraft flew near their helicopter.”

This helicopter sighting followed an earlier event where a JetBlue pilot reported potentially hitting a drone as the plane prepared to land at JFK.

In response, JFK’s air traffic control issued alerts to nearby pilots about an unauthorized drone operating in restricted airspace, as reported by ATIS.guru, an online platform that captures live digital communications from airports worldwide.

JETBLUE FLIGHT REPORTS DRONE STRIKE DURING APPROACH TO NEW YORK AIRPORT: FAA

According to the warning, a “red and white” remote-controlled airplane was spotted flying at roughly 4:05 p.m. local time.

It was observed at an altitude of 500 feet, placing it within the typical flight path of low-flying commercial aircraft approaching the airport, according to the ATIS warning.

The sighting was also reported about 1 mile from the Canarsie (CRI) navigation beacon, a key waypoint used by aircraft lining up to land at JFK.

It is unclear whether the two cases are related.

The FAA notified local authorities about the report.

Flying a remote-controlled aircraft or drone near a major airport is illegal and poses a serious safety risk to aircraft operating in the area, according to the agency. 

Earlier Monday morning, a JetBlue flight struck a drone at approximately 3,000 feet roughly 10 miles from JFK, the FAA said. 

Air traffic audio recordings indicate the encounter occurred above the cockpit.

The flight landed without incident, and a post-flight inspection did not reveal any damage to the aircraft, JetBlue said.