Drone reports briefly halt flights at Newark airport

More than 40 flights headed to Newark Liberty International Airport were disrupted as the airport temporarily shut down arrivals Tuesday after a pilot reported a drone coming within about 30 feet.

A pilot on a Southwest Airlines flight first reported the device at 4:44 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. When the crew on a second flight operated by United Airlines made a similar report three minutes later, air-traffic controllers in the region sent arrivals into holding patterns.

At least one of the flight crews reported the drone was within 30 feet of a collision, according to the FAA statement. That prompted a temporary halt to 43 arriving flights, nine of which had to divert.

The agency resumed arrivals within an hour, but had to delay dozens of other flights through the evening in an attempt to ease congestion from the initial event.

The swift reaction at Newark, a major hub in the New York metropolitan area, stoked fears of drone disruptions as U.S. regulators seek to expand civilian uses of the robotic aircraft while tightening security.

In the U.K., London’s Gatwick Airport was disrupted over three successive days last month after drone sightings. Heathrow Airport briefly shut down earlier this month when drone sightings near its runways raised safety concerns.

Tuesday’s device was spotted about nine miles north of Newark, over nearby Teterboro Airport, an altitude of 3,500 feet, according to the FAA. At 5:40 p.m., the agency sent an internal notice saying flights were landing again.

“We’re coordinating with the FAA & fully supporting all federal law enforcement authorities as they investigate this incident,” Newark Liberty’s Twitter account reported in announcing the resumption of normal operations shortly after 7 p.m.

At one of the nation’s most congested and delay-prone airports, even a brief halt to landings can ripple though the day and cause disruptions for hours. The airport has also been plagued by delays in passenger security screening blamed on the partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22. On Monday, travelers waited as long as 40 minutes, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The incidents in London and Newark highlight a growing problem with drones: the potential for massive disruptions of commercial air travel by their mere presence.

The U.S. government is drafting proposals that would track drones and identify their users in real time, but the rules are years away from becoming final. Regulators last week unveiled a long-awaited set of proposals that would allow drone flights over people — a critical step for an industry seeking to expand into robot aerial deliveries and scores of other commercial uses in populated areas.

The world’s largest civilian drone maker, China-based SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd., issued a statement saying it would assist in any investigation, but raising doubts that a pilot could see such a small craft at that altitude. “Spotting one from a plane flying at more than 100 mph strains the limits of physical possibility,” said company spokesman Adam Lisberg.

The FAA has recorded hundreds of sightings of drones by pilots, including at Newark and other major commercial airports. There has been one confirmed collision in the U.S. between a drone and a traditional aircraft, an Army helicopter, which had minor damage, in 2017.

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