Drone Flew Near President Obama While he Was Golfing

According to new reports, a drone caused alarm among the Secret Service when it was spotted flying too close to US President Barack Obama during a round of golf last March.

According to reports from the US Federal Aviation Administration, the incident occurred at Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, where the president was enjoying freetime with members of his inner circle.

It is not clear how close the drone flew, or even if it appeared to be purposefully operating near the president.

Similar cases have occurred over the past few months. Unmanned aerial vehicles have crashed on the White house lawn in two separate incidents over the last year. This was the third instance of a drone flying uncomfortably close to the US president.

The FAA report was obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request by the Palm Beach Post. The Secret Service has not commented on the incident.

Security concerns stemming from recreational drones sightings are becoming an increasingly common occurrence. Laws which prohibit the operation of aerial vehicles near secure areas are being broken on a regular basis. UAVs are supposed to stay below an altitude of 400 feet and avoid the airspace of airports, but law enforcement has little way of enforcing the regulations.

With these repeated violations come new dangers. The risk of a drone damaging the engine or fuselage of a commercial airliner are extremely high, warns Charles Reinholtz, professor of mechanical engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

"The larger the [drone] and the more they fly illegally in airspace they shouldn't be, the higher the potential danger," Reinholtz said, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Accidental collisions are not the only concern. Drones can also be used by terrorists to attack airplanes or other high-profile targets. According to the FAA report, some of the recent UAV incidents appear to be intentional.

In one such instance from earlier this month, the pilot of a Cessna 172 passed within 100 feet of a recreational quadcopter. The drone appeared to have a camera suspended under it and maneuvered to follow the Cessna.

There were numerous other incidents involving drones suspected of being a threat to commercial aircraft flying at various altitudes.