A helicopter pilot reported a near-miss with a remote-controlled plane on the same day a JetBlue passenger aircraft hit a drone as it was touching down at John F. Kennedy Airport.
The Bell 407 heli captain averted a collision while flying from JFK to Manhattan Monday, merely hours after the JetBlue plane smashed into the UAV while it was at an altitude of 3,000 feet.
“Almost ran into a giant RC airplane over at Floyd Bennett,” the pilot told JFK air traffic controllers in ATC.com audio obtained by WABC.
“Interesting, he’s not on my radar here,” the controller said. “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 said. “A big one at 500 feet.”
Federal Aviation Administration officials are not investigating the near-miss. The incidents are not linked.
The flight from JFK International to West 30th Street Heliport takes around eight minutes.
The near-miss happened the same day as a JetBlue Airbus A321, which had departed from Las Vegas, collided with a drone during its descent into JFK – around 10 to 12 miles from the airport itself.
“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.
“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”
