A United Airlines Boeing 737-800 apparently collided with a drone with an unknown origin as it was landing in San Diego, California this morning. Just before landing at about 8:28 am this morning, pilots on the flight reported to Air Traffic Control they observed a shiny red drone in their airspace, striking the plane in the process.
“United flight 1980 reported a possible drone just prior to arriving in San Diego. The flight landed safely, and customers deplaned normally at the gate. Our maintenance team found no damage after thoroughly inspecting the aircraft,” United Airlines told reporters today in a statement about the incident.
This type of aviation incident could have turned out much, much worse! https://t.co/V2vlvU3xY6
— the Weatherboy (@theWeatherboy) April 29, 2026
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued its own statement too: “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.”
There were 48 passengers and 6 crew aboard the aircraft at the time of the incident. Full, the aircraft could seat up to 16 passengers in first class and 150 in economy. The flight originated in San Francisco and arrived early into San Diego, arriving more than 15 minutes earlier than its scheduled time even with the drone strike.
The FAA agency is actively cracking down on illegal drone flights near airports, which average hundreds of reports monthly, and has updated enforcement policies for 2026 to include hefty fines and license revocations for those caught to be operating drones illegally near passenger aircraft.
