An unmanned aircraft nearly collided with a US Airways aeroplane this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed.
FAA unmanned aircraft systems office head Jim Williams said that the incident in March shows the risks posed by integrating drones into the airspace.
A CRJ-200 regional jet pilot from American Airlines told officials that the aircraft experienced a near-collision with the drone at an altitude of 2,300ft above the Tallahassee runway in Florida.
"The airline pilot said that he thought the [drone] was so close to his jet that he was sure he had collided with it," Williams said.
However, inspection of the aircraft on grounding found no damage.
The current regulations require small types of unmanned aircraft to fly below 400ft above ground level, at a sufficient distance from full-scale aircraft.
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By GlobalDataIn addition, drone pilots should alert an airport when flying it within 8km of the airport.
The FAA investigated the incident but it could not identify the pilot of the drone.
FAA said in a statement that it is working aggressively to ensure the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace.
"Our challenge is to integrate unmanned aircraft into the busiest, most complex airspace in the world," the statement said.
"Introduction of unmanned aircraft into America’s airspace must take place incrementally and with the interest of safety first."
In recent years, the use of drones has increased substantially, putting the FAA under pressure to set broader rules.
Currently, the FAA only allows non-commercial and law-enforcement uses for drones.
