Drone collides with passenger plane for first time in North America

Canadian officials confirmed over the weekend that a drone collided with a passenger plane for the first time over North America.

A Skyjet plane carrying eight passengers had a hairy landing Oct. 12 when a drone flying roughly 1,500 feet above Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City crashed into the aircraft. Canada’s Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau held a press conference on Sunday regarding the incident, which he said could have been “catastrophic.”

“It could have been much more serious,” he said, CBC reported. “It’s important to note that aircraft are particularly vulnerable when on final approach coming in — the pilot is concentrating on landing properly.”

Mr. Garneau’s office told the newspaper that last Thursday’s incident was one of nearly 1,600 that were deemed aviation safety concerns throughout the year.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said “no incidents or accidents reported to the FAA that have involved a commercial aircraft and an unmanned aircraft [have been confirmed over U.S. airspace],” when contacted by The New York Post on Monday.