A helicopter pilot reported narrowly avoiding a remote-controlled aircraft on the same day a JetBlue passenger jet struck a drone while approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The captain of a Bell 407 helicopter said the close call occurred Monday during a flight from JFK to Manhattan, just hours after the JetBlue aircraft hit the unmanned aerial vehicle at roughly 3,000 feet.
“Almost ran into a giant RC airplane over at Floyd Bennett,” the pilot told JFK air traffic controllers, according to ATC.com audio obtained by WABC.
“Interesting, he’s not on my radar here,” the controller replied. “Do you think it was like something like a drone or like, can you describe it?”
“It was just like an RC, one of the remote-controlled airplanes,” the pilot responded. “A big one at 500 feet.”
Federal Aviation Administration officials are not investigating the helicopter near-miss. Authorities have also said the two incidents are unrelated.
A typical flight from JFK International Airport to the West 30th Street Heliport in Manhattan takes about eight minutes.
The close call came on the same day a JetBlue Airbus A321 traveling from Las Vegas struck a drone while descending toward JFK, about 10 to 12 miles from the airport.
“We collided with a drone back there in the turn as we were coming to ASALT, just wanted to pass to you,” the JetBlue pilot told an air traffic controller in audio obtained by WABC from around 7:15 a.m., minutes before landing. ASALT refers to a specific waypoint used by a landing aircraft.
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“You said you collided?” a air traffic controller responded.
“Yup. It hit us .. right above the cockpit.”
The plane landed at the airport’s Terminal 5 and no injuries were reported.
“The plane was removed from service for a post-flight inspection, which found no damage or evidence of a collision,” a JetBlue spokesperson told The Post.
“Safety is JetBlue’s first priority, and we will assist with any relevant investigations.”
The FAA will investigate the reported collision.
Drone operators who fly unsafely or without permission can be slapped with a fine up to $75,000, according to the FAA.
“These unsafe operations create serious risks, and the FAA will hold operators fully accountable for any violations,” Liam McKenna, the FAA Chief Counsel, said.
The FBI is also investigating the collision at JFK, according to WABC.
The scare came just days after a United Airlines flight almost collided with a drone during its descent into Newark airport.
The pilot told air traffic controllers Friday the unmanned object was “only about 100 feet below us”
