By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror
As the governor and firefighting officials warn the public about drones causing issues for wildfire fighting, airports in Arizona have been dealing with a large increase in drone incidents.
From 2014 to 2015, pilots flying in Arizona reported 25 incidents of drones coming close to their aircraft. In the 9 months between October 2018 and June 2019, there have been 61 incidents.
One of the incidents caused an airplane to have to take evasive action to avoid colliding with a drone.
In March, a single-engine Cessna was inbound to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport when a white drone with a blue stripe appeared in-front of it at 2,400 feet. The pilot had to make a “hard left to avoid” the drone.
