United Pilot Reports Drone Encounter Above San Diego

SAN DIEGO, CA — Authorities were investigating a possible drone sighting reported by a United Airlines flight as it prepared to land at San Diego International Airport.

The pilot of the United Airlines Boeing 737 initially reported Wednesday morning that the plane hit a drone at about 3,000 feet near the airport, according to an audio recording shared on social media.

The pilot said the drone was small and headed west.

"It was red," the pilot told a flight controller. "It was shiny."

The crew of the airliner, which was completing Flight 1980 out of San Francisco, went on to safely land at about 8:30 a.m. in San Diego, according to United Airlines.

"United flight 1980 reported a possible drone just prior to arriving in San Diego," the company said in a statement to Fox 5 San Diego. "The flight landed safely, and customers deplaned normally at the gate. Our maintenance team found no damage after thoroughly inspecting the aircraft."

In a separate statement, United told NBC 7 San Diego "there's no indication that the aircraft struck the drone or vice-versa."

There were no injuries among the 48 passengers and six crew members on board.

The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the report.

"Pilots cannot operate drones above 400 feet altitude unless they have specific FAA authorization," spokesperson Cassandra Nolan told City News Service. "Drone pilots also must avoid restricted airspace, including the airspace around airports."

FBI San Diego was also investigating the incident.

"At this time there are no safety concerns for the public," the agency said in a statement to NBC 7 San Diego. "While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to evaluate the situation."

City News Service contributed to this report.