“It could be a couple of things. First of all, it could be a fly away, a malfunction. More likely, it’s probably some idiot,” said Mike Rivard, a drone expert, about who might have been piloting a drone spotted Wednesday by a United Airlines pilot flying in California.
While landing in San Diego the 737 plane traveling from San Francisco reported possibly hitting a drone at around 3,000 feet in the air. The pilot described the object as red and shiny.
Rivard, a 16-year veteran of the drone industry and author of the textbook Drone Dynamics, told KNX News’ Alex Silverman that drones are typically not allowed to fly higher than 400 feet in the air. At that height, they could interfere with helicopters and emergency aircraft.
In order to fly drones, the Federal Aviation Administration requires registration. It has also established safety regulations for the unmanned aircraft.
Per the Government Accountability Office, around 3 million people in the U.S already had drones as of summer 2024. Drones have become a popular holiday gift, as well as a tool for photographers and videographers looking for aerial footage. Rivard said that people have become more knowledgeable about how to use the devices safely over the years.
“I think at one point, there are a lot of false sightings that, you know, some of the commercial pilots thought they saw something, but didn’t necessarily,” he told Silverman. “And that was really when the hobbyist movement really started. So, everybody and their brother had a drone and most of them didn’t know how to fly them and most them didn’t know the rules.”
At the same time, there could still be some rogue hobbyists out there. Rivard noted that “it just takes one guy to pull this,” and that hobbyist drones are typically physically capable of going much higher than what is allowed.
Since San Diego is also the home of several military installations – including Naval Base San Diego, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Naval Base Point Loma, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Coast Guard Sector/Air Station San Diego – Silverman questioned whether the drone could have been a military instrument. According to Rivard, it could be.
“They could be testing something,” he said. “You know, the military is actively developing drone technology now, seeing that it’s, you know, it’s such a great alternative to putting a human being in a $100 million aircraft.”
Air traffic control alerted other pilots but did not receive any additional reports of drones in the area, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing the FAA. According to the outlet, there were 48 passengers and six crew members aboard the flight.
“It was not immediately clear if the drone actually collided with the aircraft,” the Los Angeles Times said. “The airline’s maintenance team ‘found no damage after thoroughly inspecting the aircraft,’ United Airlines said in a statement,” the outlet added.
It also reported that a spokesperson for the FAA said the administration is investigating the incident.
After the flight, United 1980, landed safely from its 90-minute trip from San Francisco to San Diego at 8:28 a.m. Wednesday morning, the aircraft departed again by 10:16 a.m., said the Times, citing FlightAware data. The plane arrived in Houston, Texas, Wednesday afternoon.
Regarding the potential damage a small drone could do to a large plane like a Boeing 737, Rivard said it could actually be catastrophic. That’s if the drone were to get in one of the plane’s engines.
“If it hit it head on, it can do considerable damage… if you had a big enough drone,” he said.
