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A United Airways pilot reported a possible collision with a drone Wednesday morning whereas approaching its vacation spot at San Diego Worldwide Airport, in accordance with a flight audio recording.
The flight, a Boeing 737 that departed from San Francisco, reportedly struck the article at an altitude of roughly 3,000 to 4,000 toes — effectively above the elevation usually permitted for drones underneath federal laws.
“We hit a drone at round 3,000 toes,” the pilot mentioned, in accordance to a recording with air site visitors controllers posted by ATC.com and shared on social media.
He added that the incident occurred because the aircraft was approaching touchdown.
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A United Airways passenger aircraft flies over the sky close to San Francisco, California, United States, on October 7, 2022. ((Picture by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Company through Getty Pictures) / Getty Pictures)
The airline instructed FOX Enterprise the aircraft did report a drone encounter, however the firm couldn’t verify whether or not it struck the system.
“United flight 1980 reported a possible drone previous to arriving in San Diego,” the corporate mentioned.
“Whereas approaching San Diego Worldwide Airport at about 4,000 toes altitude, the crew of United Airways Flight 1980 instructed air site visitors management they believed they noticed a drone 1,000 toes beneath them,” the Federal Aviation Administration added in an announcement to FOX Enterprise.
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A drone is flying over the hills throughout sundown. (iStock)
In response to the audio recording, the pilot described the article as a really small, purple, shiny drone heading west.
The reported collision didn’t seem to have an effect on the flight, which was carrying 48 passengers and 6 crew members, the corporate mentioned.
United Airways mentioned the flight landed safely and passengers deplaned usually on the gate.
Upkeep crews additionally discovered no injury from the reported collision following a radical inspection of the plane.
| Ticker | Safety | Final | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 88.62 | -1.79 | -1.98% |
The FAA added that no different close by pilots reported seeing a drone.
“Air site visitors management alerted different pilots however didn’t obtain any extra drone-sighting reviews,” the company mentioned.

A United Airways aircraft takes off from San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on March 23, 2026. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
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Drone operations, particularly close to an airport, are strictly regulated by the FAA.
Relying on the placement, drones working and not using a waiver are prohibited from flying inside a number of miles of an airport, with altitude limits that usually cap operations at only a few hundred toes.
