A United Airlines pilot arriving in San Diego on Wednesday morning reported encountering a drone thousands of feet in the air as the plane approached the airport, according to airport tower audio.
United flight 1980 departed from San Francisco International Airport at 6:53 a.m. and flew roughly 90 minutes before arriving at San Diego International at 8:28 a.m. After the Boeing 737 landed at the airport in San Diego, the pilot reported to the tower that the plane had possibly hit a drone while flying at about 3,000 feet.
According to recordings of the conversation between the pilot and the tower reviewed by The Times, the pilot tells ground control that it happened on the “base leg” of the flight, generally when the plane flies perpendicular to the runway as it prepares to land.
The air traffic controller asks him for more details:
“Do you have like approximate size or how many engines or style or anything like that?”
“It was so small I couldn’t tell,” the pilot responds. “It was red … it was shiny.”
Minutes earlier, the pilot radioed in to staff at Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control, a radar facility that directs aircraft across the region, asking if a drone was near his location.
“Not that I’m aware,” the controller responds.“I believe I just saw like a red small object … about 1,000 feet below us to our right,” the pilot says.
United Airlines flight 1980 (Boeing 737) hit a drone over San Diego this morning around 3000 feet.
Audio via @theATCapp pic.twitter.com/EFclpROOlL
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) April 29, 2026
Air traffic control alerted other pilots but did not receive any additional reports of a drone in the area, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane, which was carrying 48 passengers and six crew members, landed safely.
A spokesperson for the FAA said it is investigating.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued its own statement, saying,
“While approaching San Diego International Airport at about 4,000 feet altitude, the crew of United Airlines Flight 1980 told air traffic control they believed they saw a drone 1,000 feet below them. Air traffic control alerted other pilots but did not receive any additional drone-sighting reports.”
In a statement later Wednesday afternoon, the FBI San Diego Field Office said it is aware of the reports regarding the alleged drone and that there are no safety concerns for the public.
“While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to evaluate the situation,” FBI San Diego said. “If there is a violation of federal law within the FBI’s authorities, we will follow the facts wherever they may lead. As this is an ongoing matter, we do not have anything further.”
The Port of San Diego Harbor Police also issued a statement to FOX 5/KUSI on Wednesday afternoon. Community Policing Sergeant Jose Torres said in his statement that operating a drone in a controlled or restricted airspace can result in enforcement action.
“If an operator is identified, they may be subject to a misdemeanor citation. Depending on the circumstances, additional consequences could include fines and, in more serious cases, potential court proceedings,”
Torres explained.
Pilots are prohibited from operating drones above 400 feet altitude unless they have authorization from the FAA. Drone pilots also must avoid restricted airspace, including the airspace around airports, according to FAA regulations.
It was not immediately clear if the drone actually collided with the aircraft. The airline’s maintenance team “found no damage after thoroughly inspecting the aircraft,” United Airlines said in a statement to The Times.
The plane departed San Diego at 10:16 a.m. and arrived in Houston on Wednesday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
Photo: A United Airlines flight takes off from LAX. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
Source: Los Angeles Times; FOX5;