In the United States, where the 2026 North and Central America World Cup is currently underway, a series of collisions between landing passenger planes and drones have occurred.
According to reports from Reuters and AFP on June 29 (local time), a JetBlue Airways Airbus A321 passenger plane collided with a drone while approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for landing at 7:15 a.m. that day.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the aircraft, which was traveling from Las Vegas to New York, collided with the drone at an altitude of 3,000 feet (approximately 914 meters).
JetBlue Airways stated, "The flight landed safely, and customers deplaned normally," adding, "An inspection of the aircraft revealed no signs of damage."
This incident occurred just days after a United Airlines passenger plane collided with a drone while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the major airports in the New York City area, on June 26.
Previously, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had announced that it would prepare for increased demand for airport-related facilities in areas such as New Jersey, where World Cup matches are being held.
The World Cup final is scheduled to take place in New Jersey on July 19.
Andrew Giuliani, the White House official in charge of the World Cup, stated that the International Police Cooperation Center (IPCC), operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), had detected over 1,000 drones near World Cup stadiums.
He said, "As of the night of the 28th, since the opening of the World Cup, we have detected 1,139 drones near stadiums and neutralized more than 300 of them."
The FBI also announced via X (formerly Twitter) on the same day that it had seized more than 500 drones in the airspace of the 11 U.S. host cities since the start of the World Cup.
It is reported that many of the drones were intended to film World Cup matches or players' training sessions.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)