Two flight attendants were injured on a Canadian domestic flight after the pilot was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with a suspected drone.
The Porter Airlines’ Dash 8 aircraft with 54 passengers was coming in to land at Toronto Island Airport when an object was spotted in its flight path.
The pilot action caused slight injuries to two crew members who were prepping the aircraft for landing.
Passengers were in their seats at the time and were not hurt.
"The pilots noticed an object in the distance (and) as they approached the object, they realized it was very close to their flight path. The pilots’ initial assessment was that it looked like a balloon. After debriefing, there is potential that the object was drone," the airline said in a statement.
"Senior investigator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada Peter Rowntree said the near miss was ‘very close’ as the aircraft had to make a sharp descent to avoid the object.
"We may never be able to determine what exactly they saw," he told The Canadian Press.
Under Canadian law, drone users can be fined up to $25,000 and face jail for flying drones within nine kilometers of an airport or at an altitude above 90 meters.
