Drone flies above Virgin America flight landing in Dallas
A drone flew about 200 feet above a Virgin America flight that was landing on a runway at Love Field Airport in Dallas on Tuesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the FAA, Flight 769 from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Dallas was about a mile and a half away from the runway when the pilots reported seeing a quadcopter drone with red and green lights.
The first officer reported that it appeared the drone was on the ground at first but the the lights "went straight up and above the airplane approximately 200 feet above the aircraft while on approach," according to the FAA statement.
A spokesperson for Dallas Love Field said that police notified the tower that the plane observed the drone at about 1,200 feet while it was passing over the Crescent Hotel. The drone was in the downtown Dallas area and not in Love Field airspace, the spokesperson said.
The plane landed safely without having to maneuver around the drone, the FAA said.
No other details were immediately available. The FAA is investigating the incident.