United Airlines Boeing 737 narrowly avoids drone near Newark International Airport

Near miss involving a United Airlines Boeing 737 at Newark International Airport

Last Friday (26), a United Airlines Boeing 737 carrying 106 passengers and five crew came within moments of striking a drone during the final stages of its approach to land at Newark International Airport. Flight UA-1513 had departed from Key West, Florida, and was nearing the end of its journey after around 2 hours and 45 minutes in the air.

What the flight crew reported to air traffic control

In their communication with air traffic control, the pilots said the drone was flying roughly 100 feet (about 30 metres) beneath the aircraft. At the time, the jet was at 2,300 feet and lining up to land on runway 22L.

The crew described the drone as a fairly small, circular device, measuring about 90 centimetres in diameter.

Safety risks, the FAA investigation, and wider drone disruption

Despite its modest size, a high-speed impact could have caused serious damage to one of the aircraft’s engines or even shattered the cockpit windscreen, creating a major safety hazard.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated it will investigate the drone incident in Newark. United Airlines confirmed that the pilots reported the drone sighting and that passengers disembarked as normal.

Beyond recreational drones, larger military drones have caused significant disruption at several European airports since the end of last year. Many sites have already installed sophisticated drone-detection systems, although this equipment still lacks the ability to neutralise or bring down these unmanned aircraft.