Officials: Drones seen in Kennedy air space

Federal and local police are investigating three reports from commercial airline pilots who spotted unmanned drones flying close to aircraft in Nassau County airspace on approach to Kennedy Airport, officials said Wednesday.

Nassau County police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI were alerted and are investigating, authorities said. All three flights landed safely and no one was injured, officials said.

The most recent incident occurred Wednesday about 1:50 p.m., when the pilot of JetBlue Flight 842, an Airbus 320 that departed from Savannah, Georgia, reported seeing a drone about 2 miles from Runway 31R, said Jim Peters, an FAA spokesman.

About 8 p.m. Sunday, the pilots of Delta Air Lines Flight 838 from San Diego and Virgin Atlantic Flight 9 from London -- both Boeing 747s -- reported seeing an unmanned aircraft around 10 miles from Runway 22L, flying at altitudes between 3,000 and 2,000 feet, Peters said.

The Virgin Atlantic crew told investigators "the object was moving at a slow rate of speed and was likely a quad copter drone," said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the matter.

The Delta flight, which reported seeing the drone about a minute after the Virgin Atlantic crew, said the drone "came within several feet of the left wing of the aircraft," the official said.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment and Nassau Insp. Kenneth Lack, a police spokesman, said he could not provide details.

A police source said the department was notified of the reports and a helicopter from Nassau's Aviation Bureau was dispatched on Sunday and Wednesday, but "couldn't find any drones."

The FAA bans small drones from flying higher than 400 feet or close to airports and heavily populated areas.

The incidents come as the recreational use of drones has surged nationwide, leaving the FAA grappling with how to regulate them. Formally called unmanned aircraft systems, drones can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. The FAA has predicted about 10,000 drones will be in use in the United States in five years.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in August proclaimed New York City had "become the wild, wild West" for commercial and recreational use of drones, and urged tighter regulations.

In May, the FAA proposed a $2,200 fine against a man who crashed his drone after flying it around midtown in 2013. In July, an NYPD helicopter had a close encounter with a drone near the George Washington Bridge and the NYPD arrested a man in September whom they said flew a drone inside the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

The FBI has acknowledged the use of drones as surveillance tools in some domestic investigations. The American Civil Liberties Union has called for strong oversight.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.