JetBlue pilot reports drone strike near JFK Airport, FAA investigates

A JetBlue Airways pilot reported hitting a drone while the aircraft was coming in to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a close call that ended safely but highlighted how easily unauthorized drones can still reach protected airspace around major U.S. airports.

JetBlue Flight 948 was on approach Monday morning when the pilot told air traffic control, "We collided with a drone back there in the turn as we were coming to ASALT," and said the drone struck the plane right above the cockpit at about 3,000 feet. The flight landed safely around 7:15 a.m., and a post-flight inspection found no damage to the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident.

The encounter added to concern over drone enforcement near commercial airports, where the FAA prohibits unauthorized flights. The agency says it receives more than 100 drone sightings near airports each month, a volume that shows how often pilots and controllers are still being forced to contend with aircraft that are not supposed to be there. The FAA says illegal operators can face stiff fines, criminal charges and even jail time, yet the reports continue.

The New York area has seen a recent cluster of dangerous close calls. Just days earlier, a United Airlines pilot reported almost hitting a drone while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Taken together, the incidents point to the same weak spot: drones can get close enough to threaten passenger jets on approach, when crews have the least room to react and air traffic is already compressed around busy runways.

Government Accountability Office reporting has warned that unauthorized drone flights around airports can create safety and security risks and cause delays. In practical terms, that means a single illegal flight can ripple beyond one cockpit, forcing controllers to divert attention, increasing workload for pilots and slowing arrivals for hundreds of passengers. The latest JFK incident shows that, despite years of warnings, the gap between drone rules and real-world enforcement remains wide enough for a jet to meet a drone on final approach.