Air carrier flight crew reported a near midair collision with a UAS while they were on initial approach. The UAS was reported to ATC and the flight landed without further incident.

ACN 2055073 2023-11 Medium Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turbojet Eng Near Midair Collision Incidents

Initial ApproachPart 121

What is ASRS?

The Aviation Safety Reporting System is NASA's voluntary, confidential, non- punitive incident-reporting system, established 1976. Pilots, controllers, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians file reports describing safety- relevant events. NASA de-identifies every report before adding it to the public database. Reports are not investigated by NASA, the FAA, or the NTSB — they represent the reporter's perspective.

Pilot narratives

Verbatim from the de-identified NASA record. First-person account by the reporter. NASA strips identifying details (names, company, specific time); anonymization placeholders are ZZZ, X, Y.

Reporter 1

We were at 10,000 ft. on the PANGG5 Arrival over IROCK fix. ATC notified us of an unknown aircraft at an unknown altitude approximately six miles, at our 1 to 2 o'clock position. As we turned our heads to look for the aircraft my First Officer saw a large drone approximately 2 ft.-3 ft. in diameter, rectangular, black with white or grey markings and a green light, narrowly passing our aircraft. It passed so close to our aircraft we could not confidently say we had missed the drone. ATC was notified and we were told that the drone was not the vehicle we were previously made aware of. There was no TCAS warning of any type from the drone. We sent a message to company via ACARS and asked to have Maintenance meet us for an aircraft inspection. No damage was found. Suggestions: Civilian drones large enough to damage an aircraft need to be manufactured with a rudimentary TCAS that cannot be disable by the operator.

Reporter 2

At 10,000 ft. on the PANGG STAR into MDW over IROCK intersection, ATC had given us a traffic alert at our 1 o'clock in six miles aircraft type and altitude unknown. I looked out the windscreen as well as my Captain searching for the traffic. A few seconds later, a drone that was rectangular in shape, 2 ft.-3 ft. wide, black and grey or white in color with a green light passed my window within 5 ft.-10 ft. of the right side at about eye level. I was not certain if we did not make contact with the drone. I told my Captain what I had seen, and they relayed the information to ATC. There was no TCAS warning of any type. ATC told us that was not the Traffic Alert they had told us of previously. The Captain then relayed the information to Maintenance via ACARS and they met us once at the gate in MDW to conduct a visual inspection of the aircraft in which no damage was found. Suggestions: Better regulation of UAV/drone activity.

NASA classification — Anomalies

Airspace Violation
Conflict
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural

NASA classification — Assessments

Contributing Factors / Situations: Human Factors
Primary Problem: Human Factors

ASRS reports are voluntarily submitted, de-identified by NASA, and represent the reporter's perspective. The presence of reports on a topic cannot be used to infer prevalence in the National Airspace System. The authoritative source is the NASA ASRS Database Online at asrs.arc.nasa.gov ↗.