The skies around America’s busiest airports are becoming increasingly crowded—and not just with airplanes.
Recent incidents involving drones flying dangerously close to commercial aircraft are sounding alarms among aviation safety experts. In one harrowing encounter, a drone came within 300 feet of a passenger jet preparing to land at San Francisco International Airport. A similar near miss occurred outside Miami, while another drone passed just 50 feet from a jetliner’s wing near Newark.
These incidents—classified as “near midair collisions”—are part of a growing pattern. According to an AP analysis of NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, drones were involved in nearly two-thirds of near-miss reports at the top 30 U.S. airports in 2023, the highest percentage since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
While near-miss reports have been tracked since 2014, the sheer number and frequency are now pushing the issue into sharper focus.
“If you have the money, you can go online and buy a pretty sophisticated drone that can reach altitudes they really have no business being at,” said William Waldock, a safety science professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates there are now over a million drones in operation across the U.S., used for both recreational and commercial purposes. Many drone pilots may not be aware of restrictions near sensitive airspace—such as airports—or ignore them altogether.
Even with strict regulations that prohibit unauthorized drone flights near airports, enforcement remains difficult. While drones weighing over 250 grams are required to carry remote ID transponders, these rules are not always followed or effectively policed.
In one notable case last year, a small drone collided with a firefighting plane in Southern California, grounding the aircraft for days due to wing damage. Authorities located the drone operator through its transponder signal. He later pleaded guilty to recklessly operating the drone in restricted airspace.
The FAA has begun testing drone detection and mitigation technologies at major airports, exploring tools like RF jamming, geofencing, and even high-powered microwaves and lasers to safely disable rogue drones. However, experts say more needs to be done—both technologically and legislatively.
One former safety feature, “geofencing”—where a drone’s GPS prevents it from entering restricted areas—was recently removed by leading drone manufacturer DJI. The company said managing waivers from legitimate users overwhelmed its system. Without industry-wide requirements, geofencing remains an optional safeguard.
Calls are growing louder for more aggressive accountability. Experts suggest that drone violations could be handled similarly to speeding tickets: automatically identifying drones via their transponder ID and issuing penalties by mail.
As these incidents show, knowing what’s in your airspace isn’t just about aviation safety—it’s about public safety.
At AirSight, we believe real-time visibility into drone activity is essential in all sensitive environments—not just airports, but also stadiums, campuses, and critical infrastructure. Our team continues to support efforts across sectors to address these evolving airborne threats with reliable detection, tracking, and threat classification tools.
The rise in near-collisions is a wake-up call. Awareness isn’t optional—it’s a necessity.