California had the highest number of near misses in the air involving drones, with the airline industry again calling on the FAA to speed up planned regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Commercial use of drones is banned, but hobbyists continue to fly, with an increasing number of incursions into commercial airspace, according to FAA data.
"It’s unacceptable, even one near-miss, if it was a little to the left or a little right, could have a created a larger problem. We need to address this," said Captain Moak, president of the Airline Pilots’ Association.
The FAA says 193 UAV sightings were reported in the US between January and November 2014.
California had 25 mid-air sightings by commercial pilots, including one that came close to hitting a plane 4,500 feet above Sausalito and another drone seen just a few hundred feet from the runway at San Jose Mineta International Airport.
Next was New York with 20 sightings and Florida with 17.
The FAA said it receives about 25 reports a month from sightings of either drones or model aircraft and in the most severe cases it says pilots have altered course to avoid a collision.
"The main issue is, you have seconds to react," said airline pilot Fred Robinson to NBC Bay Area.
"When you look at something that is, depending on the type, that’s maybe two feet in diameter and it weighs maybe two pounds, that’s hard to spot when you’re in the cockpit," said Robinson.
