Passenger Plane Collides with Drone Minutes Before Landing

A routine flight turned into a heart-pounding moment over California when a commercial airline pilot reported hitting a mysterious object—believed to be a drone—while preparing to land.

The pilot of United Airlines Flight 1980, a Boeing 737 traveling from San Francisco to San Diego, sounded the alarm after touching down Wednesday morning. What he described has now sparked a federal investigation—and raised fresh fears about drones buzzing dangerously close to passenger planes.

“It was so small I couldn’t tell,” the pilot told air traffic control. “It was red… it was shiny.”

The chilling encounter happened during the “base leg” of the landing approach—just minutes before the aircraft lined up with the runway. Even more unsettling, the pilot had already asked controllers if any drones were nearby.

“Not that I’m aware,” came the response.

Moments later, the pilot spotted what he called “a red, small object” about 1,000 feet below and off to the right—before the suspected impact.

Air traffic control quickly warned other pilots in the area, but no one else reported seeing the object.

Onboard were 48 passengers and six crew members—thankfully, all landed safely in San Diego without incident. United Airlines later confirmed that a full inspection of the aircraft revealed no visible damage.

Still, the scare has triggered a formal investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, as concerns grow over reckless drone activity near busy airports.

Federal rules strictly prohibit drone flights above 400 feet without special authorization—and require operators to stay far away from aircraft and airport airspace.

But this latest incident is a stark reminder: it only takes one mistake in the sky to put dozens of lives at risk.