You can fly, just not too high: FAA report says reckless drone use is on the rise faster than ever

It’s official, at least according to the FAA; drones are becoming more of a problem than ever before, endangering roughly three times as many aircraft this year than the year before.

According to a new report released by the FAA, pilots have reported over 650 close encounters with drones through August 9th of this year, a massive increase from the 238 incidents reported through the same time last year.

And if the numbers don’t lie, it looks like the curve is about to sky-rocket even more. According to the report, there were 275 instances of pilots sighting nearby drones, as high up as 10,000 feet, in June and July alone, including the California wildfire incidents we previously reported on.

The FAA notes it’s continuing working closely with the law enforcement community to prevent further incidents and fine operators who do endanger the lives of pilots and passengers aboard private and commercial aircraft.

Image credits: Goélands LVL GeO909 by Gilles Ollivier used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0