NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
General aviation rotor wing pilot reported having a near miss with a UAS during cruise flight.
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 narrative
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.
Night flight as pilot flying, PDPIC (Performing Duties of Pilot in Command), commercial training cross country. 5nm SW of KBDN, approaching location from the north, no local towers or buildings nearby. Roughly XA:30-XA:45 PST. Saw a drone at our altitude with minimal green lighting, no anti collision lights. I did not see them until they were less than 1/2sm away. As PIC I chose to deviate course while verbalizing the hazard. There was no traffic alert and proper evasive action was taken. They passed an estimated 50-60 ft. (or less) off our right side at +/- 5 ft. of our altitude. Upon confirming my aircraft was safe from the hazard, I noted our altitude and conferred with my passenger about our estimation of the horizontal distance. We proceeded to our destination without further problems. I believe the person flying the drone created a dangerous environment by not complying with Part 107.29 rules for drone operation at night. Prevention of recurrence of this situation would be if the person was found, recurrent training and proof of installation of proper anti collision lighting. Overall, requiring adsb-out for drones capable of reaching higher altitudes would also help prevent recurrence.
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 ↗.