JetBlue flight 'collides with drone' near JFK Airport as pilot's audio emerges

JetBlue flight 'collides with drone' near JFK Airport as pilot's audio emerges An investigation has been launched after a pilot said a drone collided with a JetBlue plane at around 3,000ft as it headed into land at JFK Airport in New York A JetBlue pilot was heard telling air traffic control that his plane had collided with a drone as it came into land at JFK Airport in New York. An investigation is now underway by the Federal Aviation Administration after the incident at around 7.15am this morning. The plane was at 3,000ft at the time. The JetBlue flight B9-948, arriving from Las Vegas, did not require an emergency landing and it proceeded to land normally on Runway 13L at New York’s JFK Airport. "We collided with a drone back there in the turn," the pilot told an air traffic controller. "You said you collided?” the air traffic controller replied. And the pilot responded: “Yup, it hit us right above the cockpit." The airline said all the passengers were able to disembark normally, and then the plane was removed from service so it could be inspected. JetBlue said it "found no damage or evidence of a collision" on the Airbus A321 plane. "Safety is JetBlue's first priority, and we will assist with any relevant investigations," added the airline. Drones are generally allowed to fly below 400ft in the United States, but the FAA does restrict airspace around airports and public events like the World Cup because of safety concerns. Law enforcement officials say that even when a drone pilot is just trying to shoot an overhead video, their presence distracts officers from dealing with other potential threats. Incident reports collected by the FAA show that drones are a growing threat around airports. The FAA said that more than 100 drone sightings are reported near airports every month that the agency works with law enforcement to investigate. Drone operators that violate restricted airspace can face substantial fines and even lose their license or have their drones confiscated. The death and destruction drones have caused on the battlefields of the Ukraine and Iran wars has also led officials to be increasingly concerned about the threat they pose. But sometimes an initial report from an airline pilot about a close encounter with a drone doesn't always turn out to be an actual collision after officials investigate. In April, the FAA was able to determine that a drone passed roughly 1,000ft below a United Airlines plane as it came into San Diego and did not strike the plane.