Blog entry by Bruce McPherson

Anyone in the world

he number of mid-air conflicts between drones and crewed aircraft rose in the first half of this year in most parts of Canada, with Ontario leading the way by far, according to new statistics obtained by CBC News.

Transport Canada says between Jan. 1 and June 30, there were 33 "incidents" between drones and airplanes in Ontario's skies. During the same period in 2018, there were 24, and 25 in the first six months of 2017.

Transport Canada defines an incident as a conflict between a crewed aircraft and a drone that "poses a risk to aviation safety."

"More drones are flying, so there's more probability that incidents could be reported to the department," said Ryan Coates, manager of Transport Canada's remotely piloted aircraft systems task force. "They've just increased in numbers by the thousands."

During the same time period, the number of drone-airplane conflicts has risen in other regions across Canada, with the exception of Quebec, where they've dropped since the first half of 2017, from 11 incidents to six this year.

Even so, there has only been one case of a drone striking a crewed aircraft, according to Coates.

  • In late 2017, a passenger plane and a drone collided over Quebec's Jean Lesage airport. There were no injuries and the plane landed safely.
  • In November 2016, two flight attendants were injured when a Porter Airlines flight dove suddenly on its approach to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. 

"The crew observed a 'drone' type object on a collision course with the aircraft," the captain reported in documents obtained under a freedom of information request. "The object was described as: solid, dark, about 5-8 feet in diameter, and shaped like a doughnut."

drone-statsThis chart shows the number of reported drone incidents posing a risk to aviation safety, region by region. (Transport Canada)

Emails between employees at Porter Airlines and Transport Canada investigators speculate the object could have escaped from a U.S. military base near Watertown, N.Y., where "they launch and test-fly drones." Ultimately, the object was never positively identified.

Mike Smee - CBC News