Officials at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport have had safety concerns involving drones, Greg Kelly, the airport’s executive director, said Thursday.
“We recently had a commercial aircraft on approach to our airport report a small drone operating in close proximity to its flight path,” Kelly said.
“This could have been disastrous if the drone had made contact with the aircraft, especially one of its engines.”
He said the incident is under investigation by the FBI.
“With the growing availability and use of unmanned aircraft systems or drones for governmental, business and personal use around our county, it’s important that those who are considering using these devices in our community become familiar with the restrictions of such activities in the vicinity of the airport,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration already has issued a regulation restricting the unauthorized use of recreational drones and model airplanes within five miles of airports, citing safety issues.
After a near collision between a small, unmanned drone and a commercial airliner over Florida in March, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems warned that such an event could have had “catastrophic” results.
“The pilot said that the UAS was so close to his jet that he was sure he had collided with it,” said the FAA’s Jim Williams. “Thankfully, inspection to the airliner after landing found no damage. But this may not always be the case.”
In issuing the new regulation in late June, the FAA said it intends to apply its enforcement authority to “model aircraft operations that endanger the safety of the National Airspace System.”
The agency defines model airplanes as devices that weigh 55 pounds or less and prohibits them from flying near airports without permission from air traffic controllers. The new regulation also prohibits the unmanned aircraft from flying more than 400 feet above the ground and over populated areas where there is an increased risk of someone on the ground being injured from a crash.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the administration cited recent “reckless use of unmanned model aircraft near airports and involving large crowds of people” in its announcement of the policy shift, which comes as federal officials are trying to determine how to regulate private unmanned aircraft in American airspace.
“We want people who fly model aircraft for recreation to enjoy their hobby — but to enjoy it safely,” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.
