WASHINGTON — More than a million small drone aircraft have been sold in the past few years, and a growing number of them are turning up in the skies near airports and airliners, posing a risk of collision.
Reports of drone sightings near other planes, helicopters and airfields are reaching the government almost daily, say federal and industry officials.
It’s a sharp increase from just two years ago when such reports were still unusual.
Many of the reports are filed with the Federal Aviation Administration by airline pilots. Michael Toscano, president of a drone industry trade group, said FAA officials also have verified the increase to him.
“It should not be a matter of luck that keeps an airplane and a drone apart,” said Rory Kay, a training captain at a major airline and a former Air Line Pilots Association safety committee chairman. “So far we’ve been lucky.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the “reckless operation of drones, whether near airports or anywhere else, is a serious threat to public safety.”
