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Sedona Airport warns drone pilots to stay away after alleged collision with private plane

Published  April 22, 2017 12:29pm MST
FOX 10 Phoenix

SEDONA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - It's hard to find any place on earth more beautiful than Sedona and that beauty draws visitors from everywhere.

That means a lot of airplanes, helicopters, and increasingly, drones.

Amanda Shankland, the General Manager of Sedona Airport, says on February 11th, one of those drones hit a private plane midair, and the pilot said it was a frightening experience.

"I asked if he saw it in front of him and he said no, it was probably coming up from underneath him," said Shankland. "He said it was the loudest boom I've heard in an airplane."

The plane's propeller obliterated the drone. The airport manager says the scratches came from tiny bits of the drone. She says it could have been a lot worse.

"It could hit the engine, stall the plane, many different problems there. Could it cause a crash? Absolutely, yeah it could cause a crash," said Shankland.

The Federal Aviation Administration investigated this incident and says, "Multiple FAA inspectors examined the evidence and found no indication of an in-flight collision with any object."

"So is the FAA wrong here? I won't say they are wrong, but you told me a dron hit a plane, that is what reported to us, that is what we have seen," said Shankland.

Sedona Airport is so concerned about the situation, they have put up a number of signs that say, "No drone zone within five miles of the airport."

The message? Drones, planes and helicopters don't mix.