Cases and themes
Unidentified drones over bases, ships and towns, including the 2024 New Jersey reports. 92 events, newest first.
Sightings3 Jul 2018
Greenpeace activists flew a drone into the no-fly zone of EDF's Bugey nuclear plant in France and crashed it into the wall of the spent-fuel building to show the site's vulnerability. EDF said two drones overflew the site, one was intercepted, and the security of the installations was not affected.
Photo: Spiritrespect, CC BY-SA 3.0
Government28 Jun 2018
A National Assembly commission of inquiry, with Paul Christophe and Barbara Pompili as authors, delivered its report on the safety and security of French nuclear installations, listing drones alongside cyberattacks and insider threats as new forms of threat.
Photo: Pmau, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings12 Oct 2017
A drone struck a Skyjet Beechcraft King Air with eight passengers inbound to Quebec City's Jean Lesage airport, causing minor damage. Transport Minister Marc Garneau called it the first drone collision with a commercial aircraft in Canada; the operator was not identified.
Photo: Harfang, CC BY 3.0
Military21 Sep 2017
A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk on a UN General Assembly security patrol struck a DJI Phantom 4 near Staten Island, taking minor damage. The NTSB found the drone pilot flew beyond visual line of sight; the FAA called it the first confirmed drone collision with an aircraft.
Photo: The National Guard Spc. Andrew Valenza/New York National Guard, Public domain
Sightings2 Jul 2017
Gatwick Airport said a reported drone near the airfield led it to suspend runway operations twice in one evening, briefly each time, causing go-arounds and diversions of several easyJet and British Airways flights. Police investigated. It preceded the far larger December 2018 shutdown.
Photo: Robin Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0
Government24 Oct 2016
France enacted law 2016-1428 on civil drone safety, adding registration, training, onboard signalling and jail terms for flying over prohibited zones. Commentators tied it to illegal overflights of sensitive French sites.
Sightings17 Apr 2016
The pilot of a British Airways A320 arriving from Geneva reported that an object, believed to be a drone, struck the front of the aircraft on approach to Heathrow. The plane landed safely and Metropolitan Police aviation officers opened an investigation.
Photo: Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK, CC BY 2.0
Sightings18 Mar 2016
A Lufthansa A380 crew approaching Los Angeles International at about 5,000 feet reported a drone passing roughly 200 feet above the jet, 14 miles out. The FAA notified Los Angeles police, whose air unit did not find the drone; the plane landed safely.
Photo: Glenn Beltz from Goleta, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0
Sightings19 Feb 2016
An Air France A320 from Barcelona descending toward Charles de Gaulle met a drone the captain estimated passed about five meters from the left wing; the co-pilot flew a manual avoidance. France's BEA classed it as a serious incident and opened an investigation.
Photo: Benoit Prieur, CC0
Sightings2016
UK Airprox Board figures show near-miss reports involving drones, balloons, model aircraft and unidentified small objects rose from 40 in 2015 to 94 in 2016, then a record. The board notes pilots often see such objects only fleetingly, so many are logged simply as unknown objects.
Government13 Aug 2015
The FAA said pilot reports of drones near manned aircraft had risen to more than 650 so far in 2015, up from 238 in all of 2014. Monthly pilot reports in mid-2015 ran several times higher than a year earlier.
Photo: Runner1928, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings20 Jul 2015
The crew of a Lufthansa Embraer 195 from Munich reported a black object, possibly a drone, passing within about 100 meters of the jet at 760 meters on approach to Warsaw. The plane landed safely; police questioned a local drone owner but brought no charges.
Photo: PerpetualTraveler, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings24 Feb 2015
On two straight nights, unidentified drones were seen over Paris sites including the Eiffel Tower, the U.S. Embassy and the Interior Ministry. Police opened an investigation; a government spokesman said hobbyists were the likely operators.
Photo: Getfunky Paris, CC BY 2.0
Military26 Jan 2015
Drones were detected over Ile Longue near Brest, home of France's ballistic-missile submarines, on the night of 26-27 January 2015, and the maritime prefecture sought to confirm it. A deputy raised it in Parliament amid months of drone overflights of French nuclear sites.
Photo: Rundvald, CC BY-SA 4.0
SightingsOct 2014
EDF said unidentified drones flew over seven of its French nuclear sites between Oct. 5 and Oct. 20, 2014, mostly at night. Each plant filed a police complaint and the interior minister said a judicial investigation was under way; no operator was named.
Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings22 Mar 2014
A US Airways regional jet descending toward Tallahassee at about 2,300 feet reported nearly hitting a small drone; the pilot thought it had struck the plane. FAA official Jim Williams disclosed the case in May 2014. The drone's type and operator were not identified.
Photo: The Bushranger, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings4 Mar 2013
An Alitalia pilot approaching JFK radioed that he had seen a drone about 1,500 feet up, a few miles from the airport. The FBI described a small black four-rotor craft and asked the public for tips; the FBI and FAA investigated, and no operator was publicly identified.
Photo: formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0
