Drone Panic Near United Jet

A rogue drone came within about 100 feet of a packed United jet over Newark, raising big questions about safety, enforcement, and media hype.

Story Snapshot

United Flight 1513’s pilot reported a drone “100 feet below” the jet during landing, with 106 passengers on board.^[1]
United Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) both confirmed a reported drone sighting and an ongoing federal investigation.^[1]^[2]^[14]
Media blasted the event as a near disaster, even though no collision, damage, or evasive maneuver occurred.^[1]^[5]
FAA data show more than 100 drone sighting reports a month near airports, but very few lead to proven danger or enforcement.^[14]^[13]^[15]

Pilot Report: “We Almost Hit a Drone” on Final Approach

The close call happened Friday evening as United Flight 1513, a Boeing 737 from Key West, lined up to land at Newark Liberty International Airport.^[1] The pilot told air traffic control, “We almost hit a drone right there, about 100 feet below us,” and described the object as circular and about three feet wide.^[1] United later said the crew “reported a potential drone sighting prior to arriving in Newark,” and confirmed the plane landed safely, with all 106 passengers and five crew deplaning normally.^[1]^[2]

Another pilot, flying a regional jet for GoJet Airlines into Newark around the same time, also reported seeing a drone at about 2,000 feet on approach.^[1] That second sighting backed up the idea that at least one small craft was operating in the busy airspace over New Jersey’s largest airport.^[1] The FAA said it is investigating and stressed that operating drones near airplanes and airports is both dangerous and illegal, warning that unauthorized operators can face heavy fines and even jail time.^[14]

Serious Risk or Media Hype? What the Facts Really Show

Television networks, websites, and social media quickly framed the report as a “near collision” and “chilling close call,” leaning on the dramatic cockpit audio.^[4]^[5]^[10] Yet officials have not identified any drone operator, recovered any drone, or produced radar or camera proof of an actual craft in the flight path.^[1]^[14] The jet did not need sharp evasive maneuvers, took no damage, and completed a normal landing, meaning this was a visual close encounter, not a crash narrowly avoided by split-second heroics.^[1]^[5]^[13]

This pattern matches wider FAA data. In one large study of 582 drone incident reports, most were simple sightings or close encounters based only on what pilots or others said they saw.^[13] Out of 188 close encounters with distance data, 167 involved drones within 500 feet, but only 24 came within 50 feet, and just 11 led to any evasive action by a manned aircraft.^[13] Experts who reviewed FAA numbers between 2015 and 2017 found the number of drone sightings was not skyrocketing and that most reports did not represent real collision risk.^[15]

Rule of Law, Individual Rights, and Honest Risk

For constitutional conservatives, two issues collide here: safety in the skies and government power over personal technology. FAA rules already ban flying drones near airports without clear permission, and the agency says it gets more than 100 such reports a month near airports.^[14] At the same time, analysis of those reports shows that only a small part pose serious danger, and the FAA itself has been criticized for overstating the numbers to push a tougher line on drone use.^[15]

That matters because vague fear can justify broad crackdowns. Many of these events, including the Newark case, ride on visual reports without hard proof such as radar tracks, recovered hardware, or verified video.^[1]^[13] When media repeat official talking points without asking for evidence, ordinary hobby drone flyers, small businesses, and future innovators may face heavy rules and penalties based more on perception than on data. A country built on due process and property rights should demand clear facts before expanding federal control over the skies.

A Growing Pattern Near Airports and What Should Come Next

The Newark incident is not the first time a United crew has reported a drone near the runway. In 2017, United Flight 135, a Boeing 767 from Zurich, reported a white unmanned craft about two miles southwest of Newark at 850 feet; that plane also landed safely, and the FAA opened a probe.^[3]^[8]^[9] Newer data show hundreds of drone reports near United States airports in short periods, yet that still represents a tiny fraction of the more than 16 million flights the FAA handles each year.^[19]^[16]

“We Almost Hit A Drone!” United Airlines 737 Comes Within 100 Feet On Newark Approach https://t.co/cnLdw8hSTZ via @LiveandLetsFly pic.twitter.com/VYWPKC9ZpC

— BoardingArea (@BoardingArea) June 27, 2026

Trump-era regulators now face a key test. Real reckless drone use near jets must be punished, quickly and publicly, when backed by solid evidence. But federal agencies also need to be honest about the numbers and limits of pilot eyesight, especially during busy landings. Strong safety and limited government can work together if rules target proven threats and leave room for lawful drone flying, free enterprise, and new technology that respects the Constitution instead of expanding bureaucracy by fear.^[13]^[15]