The plane later landed safely, and FAA officials have released a statement saying they will launch an investigation into the incident.
"The flight crew of Shuttle America Flight 2708 reported climbing 200 feet to avoid an unmanned aircraft while on final approach to LaGuardia Airport at 11AM today," The FAA said in a statement. "The crew…reported that the unmanned aircraft was operating in the vicinity of Prospect Park at Brooklyn at an altitude of 2,700 feet. The FAA will investigate."
The Joint Terrorism Task Force is also investigating the incident.
The FAA is also investigating reports of flights being targeted by lasers on the same day. Just hours before the near miss, five pilots reported that someone had been pointing green lasers at their planes near New York airports.
Flights targeted by lasers include another Shuttle America flight, which was reportedly at 8,000 feet when the lasers began pointing at it, as well as one from American Airlines, one from Sun Country Airlines, and two from Delta.
Pilots have been reporting a surge of near collisions with unmanned aircrafts since 2014, when the FAA began gradually opening skies to drones. A 2014 report released by the FAA revealed that there have been 25 near-misses reported by pilots of passenger airlines and other aircrafts with unmanned aerial vehicles. On one day alone – September 8 – three aircrafts issued consecutive reports of a "very close call" with a drone while approaching LaGuardia airport. Most of these frightening encounters occurred during takeoff and landing at some of the US’s busiest airports.
The FAA report indicated that drones are posing a much greater risk for air traffic and flight control than previously anticipated.
