Reports by pilots, air traffic controllers, law enforcement personnel and citizens of “potential encounters” with drones have increased dramatically over the past two years and now number more than 100 reports each month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says.
Authorities in other countries also report an increasing number of sightings of drones — also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), and other similar terms.
The FAA released data in February detailing 1,274 drone sightings that were reported to the agency from February through August of 2016.1 By comparison, 874 sightings were reported during the same period in 2015.
In releasing the list, the FAA said that it “wants to send out a clear message that operating drones around airplanes, helicopters and airports is dangerous and illegal.”
Despite the increasing number of sightings — and a number of reports by pilots who said that a drone…
