A United Airlines Boeing 737 reportedly struck a drone at approximately 3,000 feet while on approach to San Diego on Wednesday, according to air traffic control audio first reported by The Mirror. The incident had not been independently confirmed by United Airlines, the FAA or other major outlets as of publication.
The aircraft was UAL flight 1980, operating from San Francisco to San Diego International Airport. Audio of the incident, captured by the ATC App, recorded the pilot reporting the collision to a ground controller after landing.
“We hit a drone,” the pilot told the dispatcher. “At around — probably at around 3000 feet, about.”
When asked to describe the object, the pilot said it was too small to identify clearly.
“It was so small,” the pilot said. “I couldn’t tell. It was red. It was shiny.”
The Mirror reported no damage to the aircraft or injuries to passengers. United Airlines had not responded to a request for comment as of publication.
The reported strike comes amid growing concern over unauthorized drone activity near commercial flight paths. According to an Associated Press analysis of NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, drones accounted for nearly two-thirds of reported near-midair collisions involving commercial aircraft at the country’s 30 busiest airports in 2024 — the highest share since air traffic fell sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Over the past decade, drones were involved in 122 of 240 reported near misses, or roughly half of all such incidents.
The Federal Aviation Administrationb estimates that more than a million drones are currently operating across the United States for recreational and commercial purposes, and the agency receives more than 100 reports of drone sightings near airports each month.
The altitude of Wednesday’s reported strike drew attention online. Federal regulations generally bar drones from flying above 400 feet without authorization, and most consumer models are programmed not to exceed that ceiling.
“A red drone at 3000 feet? Doesn’t seem like normal consumer hardware,” one user wrote on X. Others questioned what the drone was doing in controlled airspace at all.
The danger posed by drones is most concentrated near airports, where drone and aircraft flight paths are most likely to cross. The broader risks of congested airspace were underscored in January 2025, when a midair collision between a military helicopter and a commercial jet near Washington, D.C., killed 67 people.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times’ AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times’ original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
