FAA investigates drone's near miss of CHP helicopter flying through Martinez

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KTVU) - A CHP helicopter crew searching for a stolen car, instead found itself in a close encounter with a drone, 800 feet above Highway 4 in Martinez. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now investigating the incident. 

The near-miss happened Saturday night between the Alhambra and Morello exits, and the drone operator was tracked to a house less than a half mile away.

"We almost hit this thing, we're going to keep an eye on it here," CHP pilot Pete Gavitte exclaimed, to an air traffic controller at Buchanan Field in Concord.

"We saw a red light out there, and couldn't identify it at first, " Gavitte told KTVU at the CHP hangar in Napa.

The red light appeared about the size of a golf ball, and looming less than 100 feet away.

Gavitte banked the helicopter hard to the right to avoid colliding with it. He estimates it came closer than thirty feet, gliding under a rotor.

"Very easily could have caused us to crash, very easily," he acknowledged to KTVU.

Gavitte and his flight officer beamed their bright light at the drone and tracked it back to a house in a Martinez cul de sac, alerting police to the location.

The young man flying the drone was caught picking it up off the ground.

"He kind of ran over and got it, and then the helicopter shined the light from above and three police cars came around the corner, and they pulled him aside," described neighbor Don Williams to KTVU.

The drone owner is in his early twenties, an international student from China, attending college.

His host family, who answered the door, says he was overwhelmed by the commotion he caused, and meant no harm.

They add, he hasn't had the $1,000 drone for very long.

It has a three mile range, and can cruise as high as 4,500 feet, putting it in the path of aircraft.

"You can see our windshield is not glass, it's plexiglass, so objects will go right through it, " flight officer Ben Schmidt told KTVU, in the cockpit where was when he spotted the drone.

With the helicopter moving at more than 100 miles an hour, the two and a half pound drone would have crashed through the plexiglass, incapacitating the crew or possibly damaging the rotor system, bringing the helicopter down.

"Luckily the drone had lights and it was night so we saw it in time," Schmidt told KTVU. "We don't have much time to maneuver going at those speeds."

The pilots are accustomed to avoiding big birds, such as pelicans and vultures.

They have seen drones in the air before, but this is the first time they've had to take evasive action because of one.

“These things are small, they are difficult to see if they do hit an aircraft they can create a significant amout of damage,” said Mark Kadrich who is the past president of the Reid Hillview Airport Association.

Private Pilot Mark Kadrich used to look out for birds. Now the threat is drones. He’s added a drone check every time he lands his plane.

"If a bird hears an airplane coming or feels the movement of the air they try to get out of the way,” said Kadrich. “The drones don't have that sense.”

What's alarming is the prediction from the Federal Aviation Administration that one million drones are going to be given as holiday gifts this season.

"One million drones, to anyone from age six to sixty," observed CHP pilot Jim Andrews, "with little regulation, only recommendations, and no idea if they will know what they're doing. "

The Drones Plus Manager in Santa Clara has sold 15 drones a day this holiday season. Some that can fly above 6,000 feet, well within the range of an airplane.

“First educate yourself about the FAA guidelines and absolutely follow them,” said Armin Monajemi who is the Drones Plus Manager. “At the same time it's like flying a manned aircraft, you don't take your eyes off the sky. You don't take your eyes where you are going. You always look at your drone. Look at your aerial vehicle.”

According to the FAA, in 2014, the administration received 238 reports from pilots of drones flying in their airspace. In 2015, through mid-August, the FAA received 650 reports which are almost triple from last year.

“The FAA is very concerned with the increasing reports we are getting from pilots about small drones flying near their aircraft,” said FAA Spokesman Ian Gregor. “Some of these are flying thousands of feet up or in busy arrival and departure corridors.”

Andrews says FAA guidelines advise operators to keep their drones in sight, and out of the aviation airspace, ideally below 400 feet altitude.

The Martinez student failed on both counts, but CHP hopes his experience serves as an example to others how these flying toys are potentially deadly.

Also, if drones fly within five miles near an airport, users must alert the airport operator or control tower.

The FAA has investigated two dozen illegal drone operations. In some cases, individuals breaking the law could be fined $1,100. Companies could face fines up to $27,000. In either case, there could be possible prison time.

The young man was not cited, but could be later, depending on what the investigation reveals.