JetBlue plane collides with drone in New York City

It comes after another drone-related scare involving a Newark-bound flight just this past Friday.

A JetBlue pilot reported hitting a drone as the flight made its approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City Monday, aviation officials say.

The pilot reported the incident at an altitude of about 3,000 feet while the flight was on its final approach to the Queens hub around 7:15 a.m. Air traffic control radio showed the pilot say, "it hit us right above the cockpit."

JetBlue said in a statement that the flight, which had departed from Las Vegas, landed without incident or any additional help. Customers deplaned normally, and post-flight inspection revealed no damage or evidence of a collision.

“We collided with a drone back there in the turn,” the pilot told an air traffic controller, according to ATC.com.

The airline asserted safety as its top priority, and pledged to cooperate in any related investigations. The Airbus A321 plane, which flew overnight to the NYC airport, was removed from service so it could be inspected. The FBI said it was investigating.

That hasn't been the only drone-related incident at a local airport in the last few days.

A recording from ATC.com captured a scare for a Newark-bound United flight on Friday afternoon.

Moments after that flight saw the drone, a second plane confirmed its own sighting a mile "to the right of us."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating both cases. The agency gets more than 100 drone-sighting reports near airports each month. It says flying a drone so close to aircraft is not only dangerous, but illegal.

Drones are generally allowed to fly below 400 feet, but the FAA does restrict airspace around airports and public events like the World Cup because of safety concerns. Law enforcement officials say that even when a drone pilot is just trying to shoot an overhead video, their presence distracts officers from dealing with other potential threats.

But even though drones are supposed to stay under 400 feet unless their pilots get approval, many drones are capable of flying more than 3,000 feet in the air. Scott Shtofman, who is with the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, said even a drone as small as five pounds or so can fly that high.

“Now the rules restrict that, but that doesn’t mean that somebody couldn’t do it,” said Shtofman, who is vice president and counsel for regulatory affairs for the trade group.

Drone operators that violate restricted airspace can face substantial fines and even lose their license or have their drones confiscated. But Shtofman said collisions between drones and other aircraft have been rare thus far.