Two drones were spotted flying over an airport in the US state of New Jersey yesterday (January 22), putting all affected flights and travelers at risk.
According to what sources told CBS2 news, the drones were spotted around 5pm yesterday and reports suggest they flew 3,500 feet above Teterboro Airport, which is less than 20 miles from Newark Liberty International.
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said: “At approximately 5pm, we received two reports from incoming flights into Newark that a drone was sighted at about 3500ft above Teterboro, New Jersey. At that point, flights arriving into Newark were held for a short duration. Since then, and with no further drone sightings, arrivals have been resumed.
“However, we still have a ground stop in place at other airports departing for Newark until a backlog of arrivals can be cleared. We expect that to be lifted soon.”
According to media reports, a pilot told Air Traffic Control that one of the drones came within 30 feet of his aircraft. He was flying at Teterboro Airport, a nearby private Photo credit: facility, but officials grounded Newark International flights as a precaution.
Air Traffic Control received reports of flying objects dangerously close to the plane, in an audio message which said: “There’s something flying here, we thought it might be a drone. There is definitely something there. Yes sir, it definitely looks like a drone. We missed the drone by about 30 feet away from the right wing.”
The airport is the 11th busiest in the US, with 20 million passengers a year. The map provided shows several grounded planes on the tarmac.
Feature photo credit: Daily Express
