But FAA Says It Can Find No Evidence Of Impact

A pilot flying near Sedona, AZ reported that a drone collided with his airplane in mid-air, but the FAA says that it can't find any evidence of the incident.

Television station KSAZ reports that the pilot told Sedona Airport General Manager Amanda Shankland that the pilot told her that he did not see the drone that allegedly collided with his aircraft. "He said it was ‘the loudest boom I've ever heard in an airplane’," she told the station.

Shankland said that the drone was completely destroyed by the plane's propeller in the incident, and that there were scratches made by pieces of the drone on the larger aircraft.

The FAA, however, said that its investigation of the incident came to a different conclusion. "Multiple FAA inspectors examined the evidence and found no indication of an in-flight collision with any object."

While stopping short of saying the FAA is wrong, she is standing by her story. "That is what (was) reported to us, that is what we've seen," she said.

The airport has since erected several signs near the airport reminding potential drone operators that a "no drone zone" exists within a five-mile radius of the airport.

FMI: www.faa.gov