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FBI Investigates Pilot’s Report of Spotting Drone in Sky Near NYC Airport

Mar. 5, 2013 10:31am Liz Klimas

NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) — The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating a pilot’s report that he spotted a small unmanned aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

FBI and FAA Investigate Pilots Claims of Spotting a Drone in the Sky Near New York City

(Photo: Dkroetsch/Wikimedia)

The Alitalia pilot told air traffic controllers that he saw the aircraft as he approached the runway at Kennedy at 1:15 p.m. Monday. The pilot said the aircraft was 4 to 5 miles southeast of the airport and was flying at an altitude of about 1,500 feet.

An FBI spokesman says the pilot reported that the aircraft was about 1 meter long.

The pilot can be heard on radio calls captured by LiveATC.net, a website that posts air traffic communications. The pilot said, “We saw a drone, a drone aircraft.”

The FAA says the pilot did not take evasive action and the plane landed safely.

Watch this report regarding the possible sighting:

CBS Local out of New York reported an airport shuttle driver telling 1010 WINS radio host John Montone that he sees things like that in the area frequently.

“Sometimes, I see them flying so high,” the shuttle driver told Montone.

Last year, Congress passed a bill that required the FAA to expand U.S. airspace to increased military, commercial and private drone use by 2015. With that the FAA is developing more rules for how increased access to this airspace could be allowed safely.

The FAA, through a Freedom of Information Act Request, has also released lists of those who are approved for or who have applied for drone authorization permits.

The use of drones over U.S. soil has been a hot topic of late as it was recently revealed the Obama administration approved use of drone strikes against American citizens if they were a “senior operational” leader of al-Qaeda or a similar associated force. Privacy advocates have also long questioned the use of drones by law enforcement and by others.

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Comments (47)

pamela kay
Posted on March 9, 2013 at 3:09am
So…who can purchase drones? Does it require background checks? What is the capability of drones that are for sale to civilians? Are they cameras or weapons? How high can they fly? What is their purpose?Anyone know?

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Leerm
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:24am
A thought occurred to me last night. How long before some one uses a drone to bring down an airliner. You know, just fly it into the plane like a guided missile. Just wondering, I thought of it and I’m sure some bad people have too.

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- tharpdevenport
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 6:36pm
  How lng until somebody uses a drone with high-yeild explosives to bomb governmental buildings. Fly a dozen or so, do some real, serious damage.
  
  How long until somebody uses a drone with explosives t target, for example, the Vice Presiden while he’s at a public outdoor speaking event elsewhere?
  
  How long until a dozen or more drones with high-yeild explosives hover just under a bridge that the president might travel over while traveling?
  
  Or a sworm of explosive drones attacking a millitary base, and other sensative areas?
  
  If I thought of this, I GURANTEE you radical Islamists inside the U.S. are doing test flights and casing areas, like airports.
  
  And on a personal level, I suspect it won’t be long (unless it’s alrey happened and I missed the news) here in the U.S. before some regular Joe Citizen uses a droen to kill another person.
  
  Report this comment
Krutch
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 5:10pm
Maybe Iran could let us little people know how they brought down the one bama gave them to copy.

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- PATTY HENRY
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 6:49pm
  PATTY HENRY
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 6:07pm
  
  LYING, SCHEMING SACKS of S. I’m just going to call them SOS from now on…you’ll know what I mean. I have never been so angry, so ready to stomp them….so ready to rise up and make sure these Bturds don’t keep riding rough shod over America.
  
  I saw a photo of a precious young family today on FB, the mother had just had a baby and they were threatened with a brain tumor…here is this precious family Mother, Father, Baby, and several siblings…as decent as the white snow they live in …as fresh as the wild flowers of spring…the AMERICAN dream and this SOS dares to try to play Dictator…this SOS is the most INDECENT SOS that has ever been in our WH…and he sent out another SOS to give a BILLION (in the end) dollars to EGYPT who will use it to FIGHT US?! IS RAND PAUL the ONLY PATRIOT in this COUNTRY?
  GET BEHIND HIM….Let’s not wait until 2014. Let’s go state by state and pick out the PATRIOTS up for ELECTION and damnit, each one of us needs to donate at least a $ 1.00 to that campaign.. It may take us a total of 135 but with Glenn’s audience, we can flood these PATRIOTS with $$ and I agree with GLENN : FREEDOM WORKS is about the only place I want to see money go to…. NEVER the bloody GOP, gutless wonders….never to Gingrich, never to any moderate….moderate this you creeps.
  We have a SOS in the WH who’s AG is saying it’s “within the law for that SOS to call for a drone strike on an AMERICAN in AM
  
  Report this comment
- PaleRiderNY
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 8:07pm
  Feds invesigating drone activity……….well I feel better now.
  
  Report this comment
aplingtjayonia
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 4:43pm
I believe all this about drones flying in the US comes out of the administration’s fear of milita groups.

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team1blazer
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 4:31pm
So, is my tinfoil hat going to protect me from predator drones?

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moonlight on the bay
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 4:18pm
That’s just Bloomberg’s way of making sure no cups larger than 16 oz are being smuggled into the city.

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zgomer
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 4:03pm
I hope it hits Ophucker…

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Gray2Hairs
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 3:25pm
No, they would ban schools first.

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jameyosteen
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 2:45pm
What is going to happen when a drone, flying just above the top of buildings, is struck by a stray bullet from a gang shootout and crashes into a school in Detroit and kills a couple of hundred innocent children.

Do we get to ban drones at that point?

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- Gray2Hairs
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 3:17pm
  Add your comments
  
  Report this comment
- redfish52
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 3:22pm
  This event will be closed down as fast as a cat with a climbing gear. I truly believe these have been in the air a lot longer than the Fed’s will admit.
  
  Report this comment
- liltexasgal
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 8:50am
  That’s an excellent point. We must protect the children. To use the progressive argument, if it saves just one innocent life, it’s worth it.
  
  Report this comment
Mark-n-FL
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:58pm
If all of these drones are flying in our airspace, how are we going to be able to tell if our enemies are flying drones in our airspace? Iran has recently shown video footage of their recreation of the American drone that they ended up with. I’m sure they would love for us to clutter our airspace with drones, they could sneak right in.

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- eagledown
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 1:25pm
  @MARK-N-FL The scenarios are mind boggling. Here’s one to make you sleep good at night. What a perfect delivery system for something so horrific, I don’t even want to mention here. Hover over large populated area, then release. Now, if that scenario doesn’t ban them, I don’t know what will.
  
  Report this comment
- redfish52
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 2:10pm
  Boy I hope I get the chance to shoot one of these things….
  
  Report this comment
- Lt_Scrounge
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:03am
  I always wanted a drone when I was a kid. We called them radio controlled air planes and helicopters. Unfortunately, I could never afford the radio control ones, only the planes that you flew with a string to steer it. I had a couple of them. One with interchangeable landing gear so I could land it on snow or water, and a P51D Mustang. They are probably considered too dangerous for kids now. That whole gasoline and rapidly spinning propeller thing is probably not great for kids 10 and older like they used to say. LOL
  
  Report this comment
eagledown
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:23pm
Now; We “WERE” the People are now Al Qaeda?

So, I guess we get some tips from our enemies?
This is so messed up.

“USA left the building”

“Should you ever find yourself under heavy drone fire, fear not: al Qaeda has put together a handy guide on how to avoid unmanned aircrafts.”

Al Qaeda Drone Guide: 22 Steps To Evading Unmanned Aircraft Strikes:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/22/al-qaeda-drone-guide-22-steps_n_2743867.html

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eagledown
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:42am
I mentioned this when the drone issue was being discussed, and I haven’t heard of talk about.

“It’s just a matter of time when one of these F*ing drone collides with a passenger airline; killing hundreds of people”

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- DougHuffman
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:23pm
  Not likely as Hero Captain Chesley Sullenberger demonstrated. Aircraft are robust.
  
  Report this comment
- TheAlamoLives
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:29pm
  A couple of weeks ago, “The Blaze” had a great news piece on an expensive private drone flying around a neighborhood with an HD video camera. One of my comments was about liability, insurance coverage, malfunctions, etc. Well, does drone insurance cover interference with commercial aircraft? I think not, get out the checkbook….again. I’m very thankful nothing happened in this instance.
  
  Report this comment
- DougHuffman
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:40pm
  Does liability insurance cover illegal acts?
  
  Report this comment
- eagledown
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 1:01pm
  @DOUGHUFFMAN Yes they are, but Drones come in all shapes and sizes, and a drones aren’t made of meat and feathers, metal on metal can’t be a good thing when they collide at 300+ mph;
  
  And if a bird can take down a plane as you pointed out, it proves my point; Sulley was lucky there was calm water available.
  
  Just a matter of time, just my opinion…
  
  Report this comment
Cavallo
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:23am
I wonder how large the drone would need to be to stabilize a .308 rifle shot. Most of the private drones look like toy helicopters and a rifled recoil would probably knock them back quite a bit, it not destabilize and crash them.

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- PublicArtillery
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:33am
  If you look up FPSRussia he flies around a quad uav, (like the ones in BO2) that has a gun mounted to the front, I’m not sure about the caliber though.
  
  Report this comment
- woodyee
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:34am
  The NVA/Vietcong trained to shoot at flying objects ‘en masse’. Hmm, I think a half pound of lead would stand a better chance of knocking one down than an ounce. Better yet would be for our People to have the dang things legislated from our skies, before an airline or helicopter crash does it.
  
  Report this comment
- DougHuffman
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:37am
  I don’t remember the academic website with videos of incredible control of quadracopters, doing such things as tossing and catching a baton. Controlling the momentum of a rifle shot is trivial – probably merely DHS Not Releasable To Citizens.
  
  Report this comment
johnpaulkuchtajr
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:18am
Yep, I’m going to be holding my breath until one of the Ayatollah Obama’s appointees inside the FBI issues a full report on this sighting sometime in 2015.

I’ll just bet that the author of the report on the drone will use the same Thesaurus that the US Army brass used to construct the report on the massacre at Fort Hood.

This drone will become a “UFO” much like the terrorist attack at Fort Hood became an incident of “workplace violence.”

Hey, FBI, you suck!

Oh, and when can we expect all the testimony that the FBI gathered from the 30 survivors of the Benghazi attack to be made public? And since I have your attention, why did it take you so long to find Whitey Bulger? Did his account run dry?

“Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!”

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worthless
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:12am
Can we please make a list of the liberties that are being challenged and taken away by this administration?

Somebody has the time, right? It just seems everywhere I turn, my rights are being challenged

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- Female
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:52am
  If you get your news from msnbc, you too could have peace of mind and slumber with your eyes open. Yes, my fellow citizens of the new world order there is “Peace, Peace”. They are looking after the needs of the people as a hen over her chicks.
  
  Report this comment
- Will-db
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:57pm
  Yes but Rachel Maddow at least takes a strong line against this proliferation of the use of drones. I would like the use of drones outlawed internationally. Something about someone pulling the trigger from the safety and comfort of a bunker far from the conflict zone strikes me as cowardly. And when there’s talk of using them domestically, in policing etc, or private companies using them to spy on you, let alone the government, I find it particularly disturbing.
  
  Report this comment
spfoam1
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:04am
How long before drones are yelling allahu akbar before flying into the path of commecial airlines?

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- SocialistSlayer
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:14am
  Or ……. Flying into the White House ! They could attacked with multiple drones.
  
  Report this comment
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:04am
.
Just a high flying target…..That’s only 500yds thats a good .22 shot I like a challenge…..

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Charleyhorse
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:01am
If I see one, I will shoot it down with my uncle joe approved shotgun.

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DougHuffman
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 10:56am
Unlicensed drones and flying model toy airplanes fly under similar rules – not in regulated airspace. <1000 feet AGL, not in flight paths …

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Sargeking
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 10:48am
By the way, although a nice photo the Drone pix was shopped. Just so you know. Thanks.

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Vickie Dhaene
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 10:48am
This is only the beginning people.

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Sargeking
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 10:43am
The grand supposition here is that this was a real Drone. Could it have been a radio control model airplane? I’ve seen some models that were six feet long at model airplane shows. some had fancy fan jet engines and the radio control helicopters had at least three feet wide blades. As that being a given, this may have been an actual “Drone but I believe the jury is still out.

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KMHArms.com
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 10:36am
Drone’s are real and so are what we provide at http://www.kmharms.com be prepared

KMH Arms Team
- Keep your power dry

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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:15am
  KMH
  
  Normally I HATE trolls and spamers but in this case I welcome you (:
  Keep it up!
  
  Report this comment
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 11:41am
  OLDSURFRAT, I’m with you on that too.
  
  Report this comment
- theBru
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 12:00pm
  KMH, Oh they are very real…and will only multiply over the next few years…another thing you will need to watch out for is the “Thought Police”…they are already trying a guy in NY for thinking he liked to cannibalize women…
  keep your powder dry also, but I see you don’t have any for sale to keep dry…
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 10:35am
So whom has the admin been watching and how long until they are armed and begin to take US Citizens out?

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- Fubared
  Posted on March 5, 2013 at 2:12pm
  FBI axing for help identifying…feds claiming not theirs.
  http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/03/05/fbi-investigating-report-of-possible-drone-spotted-near-jfk/
  
  Report this comment

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