The Oct. 12 collision between a drone and a Skyjet charter King Air 100 carrying eight passengers to Quebec City is one in a trio of recent midair collisions involving drones and stirring concern among regulators.
The other two events involved an Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 737-800 near Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 11 and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk on Sept. 21 in New York City. No injuries were reported in any of the events.
In the Quebec City collision — which Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said was the first event of its kind in Canada — the King Air, arriving in Quebec City after a flight from Rouyn-Norada, Quebec, received minor damage.
Garneau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that the drone was operating at about 450 m (1,476 ft) and was about 3 nm (4.8 km) from Jean Lesage International Airport when the collision occurred.
“That drone should not have been there,” Garneau said, and the collision “should not have happened.”
Cana…
