Drone vs. Black Hawk
Collision over Staten Island:
It was nearly Black Hawk down over Staten Island — when an Army chopper was struck by an illegally flying drone over a residential neighborhood, authorities said Friday.
The UH-60 helicopter was flying 500 feet over Midland Beach alongside another Black Hawk, when the drone struck the chopper at around 8:15 p.m. Thursday, causing damage to its rotor blades.
The uninjured pilot was able to land safely at nearby Linden Airport in New Jersey.
The Fort Bragg, NC-based choppers were in the city for the UN General Assembly this week.
“Our aircraft was not targeted. This was a civilian drone,” said Army Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, the spokesman for the 82nd Airborne.
“It struck on the left side of fuselage. There were no adverse impacts to the flight,” he said. “One blade was damaged [and] dented in two spots and requires replacement, and there is a dented window.”
Buccino added: “Our paratroopers from the 82nd are the best trained, and they were able to act very quickly and very appropriately.”
He described the pilot of the struck helicopter as an “all-American paratrooper.”
The NYPD and the military are investigating, but no arrests have been made.
The Federal Aviation Administration restricts the flying of drones and model aircrafts within five miles of airports in any direction.
Under FAA guidelines, the drones should not be flown near buildings or bridges or more than 400 feet in the air.
They are also illegal to fly anywhere in the Big Apple except in parks.
“Drones can pose a definite risk to aircrafts, especially helicopters. If they smash into a windshield they could cause a copter to crash,” said a law-enforcement source.
“Drones can also distract pilots causing them to lose control. Last night, an out-of-control helicopter could have crashed into residential homes causing numerous injuries and even fatalities.”
Drones have been a menace in the Big Apple and elsewhere in recent years.
Last February, a GoPro drone crashed through a Manhattan woman’s 27th-floor window and landed just feet away from her as she sat in her living room.
A drone smashed into a Con Edison power plant near the East River in Brooklyn last March, causing the drone to break into pieces.
Last July, a 52-year-old man was busted flying a drone 20 feet below a passenger jet as it was landing at JFK Airport.
In 2016, a New Jersey man, 28, was arrested for accidentally crashing a drone into the 40th floor of the Empire State Building.
In 2014, a 34-year-old man was nabbed for flying one of the gadgets outside the National Tennis Center during a US Open quarter-final match featuring Serena Williams.
In what is believed to be the first incident of its kind, a drone slammed into a packed British Airways jetliner in April 2016 as it was landing at London’s Heathrow Airport. The plane landed safely.