LOS ANGELES — A commercial jetliner nearly collided with a drone while approaching Los Angeles International Airport on Friday afternoon, sparking a search by L.A. police and sheriff’s officials for the owner of the unmanned aircraft.
The near-miss was reported before 2 p.m. about 14 miles east of the airport at an elevation of 5,000 feet and involved a Lufthansa Airbus A380, said Los Angeles police Lt. Robert Binder. The drone flew 200 feet over the aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and police helicopters were headed to the area to try and locate the drone pilot, Binder said, adding that it would be a long-shot search.
As drones have become more prevalent, so have their run-ins with aircraft. Over the last few years, drones have grounded firefighting aircraft in California by flying too close during firefighting missions and have smacked into buildings and taken down power lines.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.