Delta Flight Misses Drone by 100 Feet While Landing in New York City

The pilot of a Delta Airlines flight spotted a drone 100 feet away while preparing to land in New York City.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — The pilot of a Delta Airlines flight spotted a drone approximately 100 feet away while preparing to land in New York City, a spokesman for the US Federal Aviation Administration told Sputnik in a statement.

“Delta 407… reported seeing an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) at an altitude of approximately 1,400 feet on approach to JFK International Airport,” the statement said on Friday.

The agency explained that the plane, carrying 154 passengers and five crew members, did not take evasive action to avoid the drone and landed safely.

The pilot told New York’s air traffic controllers that he spotted the drone approximately 100 feet below the airplane, local media reported.

The airport is currently experiencing 30 minute delays, but it is unknown if they are related to the drone sighting.

Friday’s incident occurred more than a week after a Lufthansa passenger plane nearly collided with a drone as it was preparing to land in Warsaw, Poland.

Lufthansa’s crew promptly notified the air traffic controllers who redirected the airplane as well as another airplane to safety, according to the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency.