Drone Hits Army Helicopter Flying Over Staten Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A drone hit a U.S. Army helicopter flying over New York City on Thursday evening.
Two Blackhawks with the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina were in the city on duty for the United Nations General Assembly, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported.
The Army said the choppers were flying low along the east shore of Staten Island when a drone slammed into the side of one of them.
They were able to continue on and land at Linden Airport, where WCBS 880's Tom Kaminski took a look at the damage.
"As that drone came apart, a piece of it was actually found upon landing up on the transmission deck, right at the bottom of the main rotor system," he said. "Which is very distressing that something would be able to get in there. And that has always been the thing that we worry about constantly."
The Army paratroopers were not hurt.
It's unclear if the drone was operating illegally.
The FAA guidance keeps private drones below 400 feet. This incident was reported just above that altitude.