Latest news with #AviationSafetyReportingSystem
Saudi Gazette
08-05-2025
- General
- Saudi Gazette
Air traffic controllers warned of safety incidents months before Newark system failure
NEWARK — Air traffic controllers repeatedly rang the alarm about critical safety issues and faced telecommunications outages affecting Newark Liberty International Airport starting last summer – months before widespread delays and flight cancellations at the airport this week, a CNN review of safety reports, air traffic audio and other records found. One controller wrote in a previously unreported statement in August that only luck had prevented a 'catastrophic mid air collision' after a communications breakdown that occurred as multiple planes were routed into the same area to avoid thunderstorms. And several times over the last year, Newark approach controllers lost radar or radio service, leaving them unable to talk with planes they were tracking. 'We just lost all frequencies and communications here,' one controller told pilots in November, according to recordings of air traffic audio. Those problems appear to have culminated in a loss of radar and radio at the air traffic site for about 90 seconds last week – an episode that led to multiple controllers taking trauma leave from work and resulting in the ongoing Newark meltdown. Now, controllers and aviation experts say that officials should have heeded the earlier warnings about problems with the intricate and delicate system that guides planes through one of America's busiest airspaces. Those issues appear to have been exacerbated when Newark's approach controllers were moved to Philadelphia last summer. 'I've never seen anything like this,' said one Newark approach controller who has worked in air traffic control for more than 20 years and requested to remain anonymous because he is a current employee. 'We're playing Russian roulette.' For decades, air traffic controllers at a facility on Long Island oversaw flights heading to and from the New York City region's three major airports, John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark. But the site had struggled with a lack of staffing in recent years, part of a broader shortage of controllers that has hit airports around the US. In July, the Federal Aviation Administration relocated about two dozen controllers overseeing flights heading to and from Newark. Those controllers shifted from the Long Island facility to a new site in Philadelphia. The change was opposed by some controllers, but the FAA said at the time that it would help address the staffing problems and growing air traffic congestion. Within weeks, at least a half-dozen controllers reported what they described as serious safety issues caused by failures to collaborate between the two locations about 100 miles apart. They described the incidents in reports filed with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows employees in the aerospace industry to anonymously flag safety issues. The reports don't include identifying information about flights or when exactly incidents happened – and the details in the reports have not necessarily been verified by government investigators. Still, the reports paint a dramatic picture of controllers seriously worried by what they described as concerning safety practices. During one incident in August, an air traffic controller with 13 years of experience said that both the Long Island-based controllers overseeing LaGuardia airport and the Philadelphia-based controllers overseeing Newark had re-routed pilots through the same area to avoid thunderstorms. Because controllers overseeing the two airports no longer work 'in the same room,' they were struggling to coordinate, leading to an 'incredibly dangerous' situation, according to the report. 'The fact that there was no catastrophic mid air collision is nothing short of luck, as these aircraft were converging at high speeds at the same altitude in between dangerous thunderstorms off their left and right sides,' the controller wrote. Sending the Newark controllers back to Long Island is 'the only way to fix the many safety hazards that are attributed to splitting apart this air traffic operation,' they argued. Another controller at the Long Island site said in a report that the FAA had only provided controllers a single, short briefing on their colleagues' move to Philadelphia, and that officials had told their team there would be no change to their operations. But on the first day reporting for duty under the new setup, the controller realized that they had to change the way they inputted handoffs of responsibility for aircraft – potentially leading to errors during busy time periods, the report said. 'I am absolutely dumbfounded,' the controller wrote. 'The FAA should be utterly ashamed of themselves for failing to properly brief controllers about this change... Not having the EWR controllers in the same room as us is a significant detriment to safety and efficiency.' A third controller wrote in August that multiple aircraft had entered the airspace overseen by the Long Island facility without the Newark controllers in Philadelphia flagging the flights to their colleagues under a typical procedure. Moving the controllers 'has caused an extremely dangerous situation in the extremely complicated NYC area airspace,' wrote the controller, who had 18 years of experience. 'The former EWR area needs to be moved back' to the Long Island facility, they added. At least one pilot also complained about the impact of the move. In describing an aborted landing at Newark in August, the pilot wrote that having controllers for the airport based in Philadelphia 'unnecessarily introduces additional workload for pilots and increases the chances of errors occurring.' Timothy Johnson, a senior assistant professor of aviation at Hampton University and a former air traffic controller and training manager for the US Air Force, reviewed the reports for CNN and said they should have been a 'red flag.' 'I've seen firsthand how critical proximity is in maintaining smooth operations,' Johnson said. 'When you remove controllers from a shared space — especially in airspace as layered and time-sensitive as the New York metro area — you lose rapid verbal coordination and the kind of instant problem-solving that keeps traffic flowing safely.' In a statement Wednesday, the FAA did not respond to the criticism from controllers and experts, but said that it was taking 'immediate steps to improve the reliability of operations' at Newark by boosting controller staffing and upgrading technology at the Philadelphia location. While most of the safety reports came within a few weeks after the move to Philadelphia, the new air traffic control site also faced repeated communications outages in the following months, according to audio and other records. The controllers still rely on radar in Long Island that transmits data to Philadelphia via telecommunications lines. Two air traffic controllers told CNN that the feed had failed at least twice and potentially three times after the move. FAA air traffic control alerts show the airport repeatedly faced delays that were attributed to equipment or communications problems. In late August, Newark had a ground stop 'due to continued equipment issues,' according to an alert. The following month, another ground stop alert cited 'equipment / outage' and noted that officials were 'evaluating potential radar outage.' One of the radio outages appears to have taken place on November 6, when controllers overseeing Newark went silent for more than two minutes, according to air traffic audio from the website and first published in November by the YouTube channel VASAviation. Several pilots noted that they weren't hearing anything from controllers who were supposed to oversee their approach to the airport. 'We have no answer,' one pilot said, adding that 'it seems like he's not talking to anyone.' Once their radios came back on, controllers appeared to be unsure whether pilots could hear them or not. 'We just lost all frequencies and communications here,' one controller said, later adding, 'listen up everybody, real careful – anybody besides United 1560, 1043 or 2192, is there anybody else that can hear me on this frequency?' One controller who was overseeing the Newark approach at the Philadelphia site that night told CNN there was 'mayhem' as controllers scrambled to warn other nearby airports about a FedEx plane that had overshot its Newark flight path into the busy LaGuardia airspace. He said he still has nightmares about all the scenarios that could have unfolded during the outage. In a statement, FedEx said its crew 'complied with air traffic control instructions before landing safely,' adding that the company is 'committed to maintaining the highest safety standards.' Michael McCormick, an aviation professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said these communication failures are much more concerning to him than the reports made during the summer of the relocation – which he chalked up largely to growing pains. The November outage should have 'been a warning,' McCormick said. 'To lose radio communication for several minutes would mean that something needs to be looked at and looked at in detail and resolved.' The repeated communication problems continued into the new year. In February, an FAA alert stated that 'users can expect arrival delays / airborne holding into the Newark Airport of up to 45 minutes due to frequency and communication line issues.' Another alert about delays due to 'communications issues' was issued in early April. Finally, on April 28, the Newark controllers lost radar service for about 90 seconds and were unable to communicate with pilots for about a minute, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN. The breakdown was caused by failures in the copper wiring that transmits information from Long Island to Philadelphia, a separate source said. After the incident, at least three controllers, one supervisor and a trainee took 45 days of mental health leave. That led to even more significant understaffing at the Newark approach control site, requiring airlines to delay or cancel hundreds of flights over the last week – and turning a situation that had been causing consternation in the insular air traffic controller community into a national headache. The FAA said in a statement Wednesday that it plans to add three new 'high-bandwidth telecommunications connections' from New York to Philadelphia, replace copper lines with fiber-optic technology, and deploy a backup system to provide more speed and reliability. In the longer term, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has promised a complete reconstruction of the nation's air traffic control system that he says will be more reliable than the current antiquated technology. But Johnson, the aviation expert, said that the FAA should re-evaluate the decision to move controllers to Philadelphia in the first place. 'This current configuration appears to be increasing complexity without a sufficient safety margin,' he said. 'Relying on human heroics to patch over structural vulnerabilities is not how we maintain safety.' The Newark approach controller who was on duty during the November incident told CNN he works in constant fear of a fatal crash under his watch. He said the FAA ignored warnings about the safety issues, and he argued that the failures could have been avoided if the agency had listened to controllers who had objected to the move. 'At the end of the day, I just want equipment that works,' he said. 'I don't want to kill people. That's my biggest fear.' — CNN
The Independent
21-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
US airports face an increasing collision risk as drone use spikes
A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco 's international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late 'to take evasive action,' the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away. A month earlier, a jetliner was flying at an altitude of 4,000 feet near Miami 's international airport when its pilots reported a 'close encounter' with a drone. In August, a drone came within 50 feet of clipping the left wing of a passenger jet as it departed Newark International Airport. The incidents were all classified as 'near midair collisions' — any one of which could have had catastrophic consequences, according to aviation safety experts. They were also not isolated encounters. An Associated Press analysis of an aviation safety database reveals that drones last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of reported near midair collisions involving commercial passenger planes taking off and landing at the country's top 30 busiest airports. That was the highest percentage of such near misses since 2020, when air traffic dropped during the COVID -19 pandemic. The first reports of near misses involving drones were logged in 2014, the AP found. The number of such encounters spiked the following year. Over the last decade, drones accounted for 51% — 122 of 240 — of reported near misses, according to AP's analysis. Passenger jets have long been subject to risks around airports — whether from bird strikes or congested airspace — as was made clear by the January collision between a military helicopter and commercial jet near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The threat from drones has become more acute in the last decade as the use of quadcopters and remote-controlled planes has exploded in popularity. The FAA estimates that Americans are operating more than a million drones for recreational and commercial purposes. 'If you have the money, you can go on the internet and buy a pretty sophisticated drone that can reach altitudes they really have no business being at,' said William Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The risk is most acute near airports because that is where the flight paths of drones and airplanes most overlap, experts said. The incidents represent only a portion of such close calls because the database — NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System — relies on voluntary submissions from pilots and other aviation workers. A separate FAA program, which includes reports from the public, tallied at least 160 sightings last month of drones flying near airports. 'The FAA recognizes that urgency, and we all know additional changes need to be made to allow the airports to go out and detect and mitigate where necessary,' said Hannah Thach, executive director of the partnership, known as Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence. The FAA said it has taken steps to mitigate the risks of drones. It has prohibited nearly all drones from flying near airports without prior authorization, though such rules are difficult to enforce, and recreational users may not be aware of restrictions. The agency requires registrations for drones weighing more than 250 grams (0.55 pounds), and such drones are required to carry a radio transponder that identifies the drone's owner and broadcasts its position to help avert collisions. Additional rules govern commercial drone use. The agency has also been testing systems to detect and counter drones near airports. Among the methods being examined: Using radio signals to jam drones or force them to land. Authorities are also weighing whether to deploy high-powered microwaves or laser beams to disable the machines. Experts said the FAA and other authorities could do more. They suggested creating a system similar to speed cameras on roadways that could capture a drone's transponder code and send its pilots a ticket in the mail. They also said the FAA should consider regulations that require all manufacturers to program a drone's GPS unit to prevent it from flying near airports and other sensitive areas, a method called 'geofencing.' DJI, a leading drone maker, used such geofencing restrictions for years. However, it eliminated the feature in January, replacing it with an alert to drone pilots when they approach restricted areas. Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said managing requests from authorized users to temporarily disable the geofencing became an increasingly time-consuming task. More than one million such requests were processed last year. 'We had around-the-clock service, but the number of applications coming in were becoming really hard to handle,' Welsh said. 'They all had to be reviewed individually.' With no other manufacturers enabling geofencing, and without government rules requiring it, DJI decided to end the practice, he said. The FAA declined to say if it is considering whether to mandate geofencing. Experts said authorities should take more aggressive action to hold drone users accountable for violating restricted airspace — to highlight the problem and deter others from breaking the rules, pointing to recent arrests that they hoped might send such a message. In December, for example, Boston police arrested two men who operated a drone that flew dangerously close to Logan International Airport. Police reported that they were able to find the drone flyers, in part, by tracking the aircraft thanks to its FAA-mandated transponder signal. A month later, a small drone collided with a 'Super Scooper' plane that was fighting wildfires raging through Southern California. The drone punched a hole in the plane's left wing, causing enough damage that officials grounded the aircraft for several days to make repairs. Authorities tracked down the 56-year-old drone operator, who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of recklessly flying his aircraft. The man, who has yet to be sentenced, admitted he launched his DJI quadcopter to observe fire damage over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, despite the FAA having restricted drone flying in the area, according to court records. The operator lost sight of the drone after it flew about 1.5 miles from where he had launched it. And that's when it struck the 'Super Scooper."
CBS News
21-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Drones in near midair collisions with planes at major U.S airports an increasing danger, AP analysis shows
Washington — A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco's international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late "to take evasive action," the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away. A month earlier, a jetliner was flying at an altitude of 4,000 feet near Miami's international airport when its pilots reported a "close encounter" with a drone. In August, a drone came within 50 feet of clipping the left wing of a passenger jet as it departed Newark International Airport. The incidents were all classified as "near midair collisions" - any one of which could have had catastrophic consequences, according to aviation safety experts. They were also not isolated encounters. An Associated Press analysis of an aviation safety database reveals that drones last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of reported near midair collisions involving commercial passenger planes taking off and landing at the country's top 30 busiest airports. That was the highest percentage of such near misses since 2020, when air traffic dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic . The first reports of near misses involving drones were logged in 2014, the AP found. The number of such encounters spiked the following year. Over the last decade, drones accounted for 51% - 122 of 240 - of reported near misses, according to the AP's analysis. Passenger jets have long been subject to risks around airports - whether from bird strikes or congested airspace - as was made clear by the January collision between a military helicopter and commercial jet near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The threat from drones has become more acute in the last decade as the use of quadcopters and remote-controlled planes has exploded in popularity. The FAA estimates that Americans are operating more than a million drones for recreational and commercial purposes. "If you have the money, you can go on the internet and buy a pretty sophisticated drone that can reach altitudes they really have no business being at," said William Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The risk is most acute near airports because that's where the flight paths of drones and airplanes most overlap, experts said. The incidents represent only a portion of such close calls because the database - NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System - relies on voluntary submissions from pilots and other aviation workers. A separate FAA program, which includes reports from the public, tallied at least 160 sightings last month of drones flying near airports. "The FAA recognizes that urgency, and we all know additional changes need to be made to allow the airports to go out and detect and mitigate where necessary," said Hannah Thach, executive director of the partnership, known as Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence. The FAA said it has taken steps to mitigate the risks of drones. It has prohibited nearly all drones from flying near airports without prior authorization, though such rules are difficult to enforce, and recreational users may not be aware of restrictions. The agency requires registrations for drones weighing more than 0.55 pounds, and such drones are required to carry a radio transponder that identifies the drone's owner and broadcasts its position to help avert collisions. Additional rules govern commercial drone use. The agency has also been testing systems to detect and counter drones near airports. Among the methods being examined: Using radio signals to jam drones or force them to land. Authorities are also weighing whether to deploy high-powered microwaves or laser beams to disable the machines. Experts said the FAA and other authorities could do more. They suggested creating a system similar to speed cameras on roadways that could capture a drone's transponder code and send its pilots a ticket in the mail. They also said the FAA should consider regulations that require all manufacturers to program a drone's GPS unit to prevent it from flying near airports and other sensitive areas, a method called "geofencing." DJI, a leading drone maker, used such geofencing restrictions for years. However, it eliminated the feature in January, replacing it with an alert to drone pilots when they approach restricted areas. Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said managing requests from authorized users to temporarily disable the geofencing became an increasingly time-consuming task. More than one million such requests were processed last year. "We had around-the-clock service, but the number of applications coming in were becoming really hard to handle," Welsh said. "They all had to be reviewed individually." With no other manufacturers enabling geofencing, and without government rules requiring it, DJI decided to end the practice, he said. The FAA declined to say if it's considering whether to mandate geofencing. Experts said authorities should take more aggressive action to hold drone users accountable for violating restricted airspace - to highlight the problem and deter others from breaking the rules, pointing to recent arrests they hoped might send such a message. In December, for example, Boston police arrested two men who operated a drone that flew dangerously close to Logan International Airport. Police reported that they were able to find the drone flyers, in part, by tracking the aircraft thanks to its FAA-mandated transponder signal. A month later, a small drone collided with a "Super Scooper" plane that was fighting wildfires raging through Southern California. The drone punched a hole in the plane's left wing, causing enough damage that officials grounded the aircraft for several days to make repairs. Authorities tracked down the 56-year-old drone operator, who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of recklessly flying his aircraft. The man, who has yet to be sentenced, admitted he launched his DJI quadcopter to observe fire damage over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, despite the FAA having restricted drone flying in the area, according to court records. The operator lost sight of the drone after it flew about 1.5 miles from where he had launched it. And that's when it struck the "Super Scooper."
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Business Standard
21-04-2025
- Business Standard
Drones pose increasing risk to commercial airliners near major US airports
A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco's international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late to take evasive action, the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away. A month earlier, a jetliner was flying at an altitude of 4,000 feet near Miami's international airport when its pilots reported a close encounter with a drone. In August, a drone came within 50 feet of clipping the left wing of a passenger jet as it departed Newark International Airport. The incidents were all classified as near midair collisions any one of which could have had catastrophic consequences, according to aviation safety experts. They were also not isolated encounters. An Associated Press analysis of an aviation safety database reveals that drones last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of reported near midair collisions involving commercial passenger planes taking off and landing at the country's top 30 busiest airports. That was the highest percentage of such near misses since 2020, when air traffic dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first reports of near misses involving drones were logged in 2014, the AP found. The number of such encounters spiked the following year. Over the last decade, drones accounted for 51% 122 of 240 of reported near misses, according to AP's analysis. Passenger jets have long been subject to risks around airports whether from bird strikes or congested airspace as was made clear by the January collision between a military helicopter and commercial jet near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The threat has become more dire The threat from drones has become more acute in the last decade as the use of quadcopters and remote-controlled planes has exploded in popularity. The FAA estimates that Americans are operating more than a million drones for recreational and commercial purposes. If you have the money, you can go on the internet and buy a pretty sophisticated drone that can reach altitudes they really have no business being at, said William Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The risk is most acute near airports because that is where the flight paths of drones and airplanes most overlap, experts said. The incidents represent only a portion of such close calls because the database NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System relies on voluntary submissions from pilots and other aviation workers. A separate FAA programme, which includes reports from the public, tallied at least 160 sightings last month of drones flying near airports. The FAA recognises that urgency, and we all know additional changes need to be made to allow the airports to go out and detect and mitigate where necessary, said Hannah Thach, executive director of the partnership, known as Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence. FAA says it is taking steps to improve safety The FAA said it has taken steps to mitigate the risks of drones. It has prohibited nearly all drones from flying near airports without prior authorization, though such rules are difficult to enforce, and recreational users may not be aware of restrictions. The agency requires registrations for drones weighing more than 250 grams (0.55 pounds), and such drones are required to carry a radio transponder that identifies the drone's owner and broadcasts its position to help avert collisions. Additional rules govern commercial drone use. The agency has also been testing systems to detect and counter drones near airports. Among the methods being examined: Using radio signals to jam drones or force them to land. Authorities are also weighing whether to deploy high-powered microwaves or laser beams to disable the machines. Experts said the FAA and other authorities could do more. They suggested creating a system similar to speed cameras on roadways that could capture a drone's transponder code and send its pilots a ticket in the mail. They also said the FAA should consider regulations that require all manufacturers to programme a drone's GPS unit to prevent it from flying near airports and other sensitive areas, a method called geofencing. Drone manufacturer ends mandatory 'geofencing' DJI, a leading drone maker, used such geofencing restrictions for years. However, it eliminated the feature in January, replacing it with an alert to drone pilots when they approach restricted areas. Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said managing requests from authorized users to temporarily disable the geofencing became an increasingly time-consuming task. More than one million such requests were processed last year. We had around-the-clock service, but the number of applications coming in were becoming really hard to handle, Welsh said. They all had to be reviewed individually. With no other manufacturers enabling geofencing, and without government rules requiring it, DJI decided to end the practice, he said. The FAA declined to say if it is considering whether to mandate geofencing. Drone users can face consequences Experts said authorities should take more aggressive action to hold drone users accountable for violating restricted airspace to highlight the problem and deter others from breaking the rules, pointing to recent arrests that they hoped might send such a message. In December, for example, Boston police arrested two men who operated a drone that flew dangerously close to Logan International Airport. Police reported that they were able to find the drone flyers, in part, by tracking the aircraft thanks to its FAA-mandated transponder signal. A month later, a small drone collided with a Super Scooper plane that was fighting wildfires raging through Southern California. The drone punched a hole in the plane's left wing, causing enough damage that officials grounded the aircraft for several days to make repairs. Authorities tracked down the 56-year-old drone operator, who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of recklessly flying his aircraft. The man, who has yet to be sentenced, admitted he launched his DJI quadcopter to observe fire damage over the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, despite the FAA having restricted drone flying in the area, according to court records. The operator lost sight of the drone after it flew about 1.5 miles from where he had launched it. And that's when it struck the Super Scooper.
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First Post
21-04-2025
- First Post
Drone encounters on the rise: Near midair collisions near major US airports threaten aviation safety
The threat from drones has become more acute in the last decade as the use of quadcopters and remote-controlled planes has exploded in popularity read more A drone hovers in airspace outside the safety perimeter surrounding St. Louis Lambert International Airport as an airliner approaches for a landing. AP A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco's international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late 'to take evasive action,' the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away. A month earlier, a jetliner was flying at an altitude of 4,000 feet near Miami's international airport when its pilots reported a 'close encounter' with a drone. In August, a drone came within 50 feet of clipping the left wing of a passenger jet as it departed Newark International Airport. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The incidents were all classified as 'near midair collisions' — any one of which could have had catastrophic consequences, according to aviation safety experts. They were also not isolated encounters. An Associated Press analysis of an aviation safety database reveals that drones last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of reported near midair collisions involving commercial passenger planes taking off and landing at the country's top 30 busiest airports. That was the highest percentage of such near misses since 2020, when air traffic dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first reports of near misses involving drones were logged in 2014, the AP found. The number of such encounters spiked the following year. Over the last decade, drones accounted for 51% — 122 of 240 — of reported near misses, according to AP's analysis. Passenger jets have long been subject to risks around airports — whether from bird strikes or congested airspace — as was made clear by the January collision between a military helicopter and commercial jet near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The threat has become more dire The threat from drones has become more acute in the last decade as the use of quadcopters and remote-controlled planes has exploded in popularity. The FAA estimates that Americans are operating more than a million drones for recreational and commercial purposes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'If you have the money, you can go on the internet and buy a pretty sophisticated drone that can reach altitudes they really have no business being at,' said William Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The risk is most acute near airports because that is where the flight paths of drones and airplanes most overlap, experts said. The incidents represent only a portion of such close calls because the database — NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System — relies on voluntary submissions from pilots and other aviation workers. A separate FAA program, which includes reports from the public, tallied at least 160 sightings last month of drones flying near airports. 'The FAA recognizes that urgency, and we all know additional changes need to be made to allow the airports to go out and detect and mitigate where necessary,' said Hannah Thach, executive director of the partnership, known as Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD FAA says it is taking steps to improve safety The FAA said it has taken steps to mitigate the risks of drones. It has prohibited nearly all drones from flying near airports without prior authorization, though such rules are difficult to enforce, and recreational users may not be aware of restrictions. The agency requires registrations for drones weighing more than 250 grams (0.55 pounds), and such drones are required to carry a radio transponder that identifies the drone's owner and broadcasts its position to help avert collisions. Additional rules govern commercial drone use. The agency has also been testing systems to detect and counter drones near airports. Among the methods being examined: Using radio signals to jam drones or force them to land. Authorities are also weighing whether to deploy high-powered microwaves or laser beams to disable the machines. Experts said the FAA and other authorities could do more. They suggested creating a system similar to speed cameras on roadways that could capture a drone's transponder code and send its pilots a ticket in the mail. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They also said the FAA should consider regulations that require all manufacturers to program a drone's GPS unit to prevent it from flying near airports and other sensitive areas, a method called 'geofencing.' Drone manufacturer ends mandatory 'geofencing' DJI, a leading drone maker, used such geofencing restrictions for years. However, it eliminated the feature in January, replacing it with an alert to drone pilots when they approach restricted areas. Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said managing requests from authorized users to temporarily disable the geofencing became an increasingly time-consuming task. More than one million such requests were processed last year. 'We had around-the-clock service, but the number of applications coming in were becoming really hard to handle,' Welsh said. 'They all had to be reviewed individually.' With no other manufacturers enabling geofencing, and without government rules requiring it, DJI decided to end the practice, he said. The FAA declined to say if it is considering whether to mandate geofencing. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Drone users can face consequences Experts said authorities should take more aggressive action to hold drone users accountable for violating restricted airspace — to highlight the problem and deter others from breaking the rules, pointing to recent arrests that they hoped might send such a message. In December, for example, Boston police arrested two men who operated a drone that flew dangerously close to Logan International Airport. Police reported that they were able to find the drone flyers, in part, by tracking the aircraft thanks to its FAA-mandated transponder signal. A month later, a small drone collided with a 'Super Scooper' plane that was fighting wildfires raging through Southern California. The drone punched a hole in the plane's left wing, causing enough damage that officials grounded the aircraft for several days to make repairs. Authorities tracked down the 56-year-old drone operator, who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of recklessly flying his aircraft. The man, who has yet to be sentenced, admitted he launched his DJI quadcopter to observe fire damage over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, despite the FAA having restricted drone flying in the area, according to court records. The operator lost sight of the drone after it flew about 1.5 miles from where he had launched it. And that's when it struck the 'Super Scooper.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
