Drones Pose A Real Threat To Commercial Flights

Drones have become cheap and fun to operate for many people. Operators love to fly their drones up into the sky, maneuvering them around while taking photos and videos from aerial vantage points. But do these activities come with risk? Absolutely!

Indeed, last week it was reported that on just one day, April 1st, three drones almost collided with aircraft that were landing at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands. And one of these drones apparently came within a mere 300 meters of a plane as it was heading toward a runway.

Pilots from the KLM Cityhopper fleet who were operating a Fokker 70 and an Embraer 190, as well as the pilot of an EasyJet Airbus A319, each reported a drone flying near their respective planes. On top of all of that, if that were not enough, the pilot of the EasyJet reported to air traffic controllers that it had three separate drone sightings.