On Sunday, a swarm of small rogue drones disrupted air traffic across the country on a scale previously unseen in U.S. skies.
At 8:51 a.m., a white drone startled the pilot of a JetBlue flight, appearing off the aircraft’s left wing moments before the jet landed at Los Angeles International Airport. Five hours later, a quadcopter drone whizzed beneath an Allegiant Air flight as it approached the same runway. Elsewhere in California, pilots of light aircraft reported narrowly dodging drones in San Jose and La Verne.
In Washington, a Cessna pilot reported a drone cruising at 1,500 feet in highly restricted airspace over the nation’s capital, forcing the U.S. military to scramble fighter jets as a precaution. In Louisville, a silver and white drone almost collided with a training aircraft. In Chicago, United Airlines Flight 970 reported seeing a drone pass by at an altitude of 3,500 feet.
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An undated photo of the SkyLife Air Ambulance helicopter that was involved in a near collision with a drone. (Brett Schoenwald/ SkyLife Air Ambulance)
A flight headed from Washington to Denver had to return to Dulles International Airport after a pilot told air traffic controllers a passenger had become violent, ran toward the cockpit and had to be restrained by other passengers.
Another passenger on the flight said the man who had to be restrained made references to jihad.
United Airlines spokesman Luke Punzenberger said in an emailed statement that Flight 1074 returned after takeoff Monday evening. Local police met the aircraft at the gate and detained the passenger, he said. His statement did not provide further details about what happened on board the Boeing 737.
Airport spokeswoman Kimberly Gibbs said the passenger was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and has not been charged.
A 43-year-old woman is being charged with assault after allegedly making threatening comments on a United Airlines flight.According to a court affidavit obtained by The Huffington Post, Lashonda Lee Williams was asked to turn off her phone shortly after takeoff on a flight from Nashville, Tennessee, to Houston on Sunday.
Williams allegedly responded by saying, “I kill white people like you,” The Smoking Gun first reported. Williams allegedly told a female passenger that she would follow her once the flight reached Houston in order to find out where she lived.
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Lashonda Lee Williams was arrested after allegedly saying ‘I kill white people like you.’
An undated photo of the SkyLife Air Ambulance helicopter that was involved in a near collision with a drone. (Brett Schoenwald/ SkyLife Air Ambulance)
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