Posted on 05/17/2012 9:30:09 AM PDT by JohnKinAK
Aviation authorities are scratching their heads over a mysterious flying object in the skies above Colorado that almost caused a mid-air crash.
The object was sighted by a commercial jet pilot, who claimed to air traffic controllers that some kind of flying craft got too close for comfort on Monday.
In a transmission that appeared on LiveATC.net, the operator of the Cessna Citation 525 CJ1 says: 'A remote controlled aircraft, or what?
Trouble in the air: The object reportedly came dangerously close to the private jet, but it never appeared on radar
'Something just went by the other way ... About 20 to 30 seconds ago. It was like a large remote-controlled aircraft.'
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Fergus, told 9News that it is working to get some answers, and that if the pilot’s story is true, such an object can be extremely dangerous.
Mr Fergus said: 'The threat is there from a collision standpoint. We'll do as much as we can here to try to track back what time it was. Suspects: The pilot suggested that the craft may have been a radio-controlled plane, like the one seen here
Suspects: The pilot suggested that the craft may have been a radio-controlled plane, like the one seen here
In an emailed statement to USA Today, the agency said: 'The FAA is investigating the incident and will try to positively identify the object the Citation pilot reported, where it came from and who was operating it.' A bird? Greg Feith also posed the idea that in the pilots haste, he may have mistaken it for a large bird
Mr Feith said that the object could have been either a military or police drone or a large radio-controlled craft - like the pilot suggested.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Depending on the altitude of your kite and your exact location, you were operating an aircraft in Class B or D airspace without establishing two way communications with air traffic control. And you were in side the Mode C veil, which requires a transponder.
No, I’m not kidding. A kite is an aircraft.
I think this is about the first time the media hasn’t called these events “near misses”. Maybe the grammar police are making progress.
It’s worth it if some guys trying to steal some cows.
But how many incidents do we need before "coincidence" is ruled out?
I've owned models with 9' (108") wingspans that weighed in at 35Lbs powered by a converted 6hp chainsaw engine swinging a 28" wood propeller.
Police Drone ???? Has it come to that?
It started when we let them use radar, now we're all on the Truman Show.
I actually saw one plane veer to the side to avoid it.
I doubt the commands were hacked. Once you know the frequency range you simply jam every frequency being used in the range. With a stronger jamming signal, the commands are lost in the noise. It doesn’t matter how many times the frequency changes during the period.
There’s nothing really high tech involved.
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