Overview
- Pilots of United Flight 1513 reported a circular drone about three feet wide roughly 100 feet below the Boeing 737 as it descended toward Newark, according to air-traffic-control audio verified by multiple outlets and flight recordings from Friday.
- The flight, arriving from Key West with 106 passengers and five crew, landed safely at about 5:30 p.m. and United said no injuries or aircraft damage were reported.
- The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a probe and local and federal investigators are searching for the drone operator, an effort reporters describe as active and still developing.
- The sighting underscores a recurring problem: the FAA receives roughly 100 reports of drones near U.S. airports each month and rules bar drones in controlled airspace without authorization, but locating and attributing operators is often difficult.
- Airports and federal agencies are expanding drone-detection and counter-UAS tools to protect flight paths, but officials warn enforcement gaps and the risk of engine ingestion or windshield damage mean even near-misses can have serious safety and operational consequences.