--- title: FAA Says Hundreds of Drones Reported Near Airplanes description: FAA says it gets more than 100 complaints a month canonical: https://time.com/4272868/pilots-drones-airplanes-faa/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-25T21:41:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:31:10.613Z og:title: FAA Says Hundreds of Drones Reported Near Airplanes og:description: FAA says it gets more than 100 complaints a month og:url: https://time.com/4272868/pilots-drones-airplanes-faa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt516f4346fef514cb/69888c9fcf40a8514fc428d9/gettyimages-473398674.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: Quadcopter Drone og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FAA Says Hundreds of Drones Reported Near Airplanes twitter:description: FAA says it gets more than 100 complaints a month twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt516f4346fef514cb/69888c9fcf40a8514fc428d9/gettyimages-473398674.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Feds Warn Idiots Are Still Flying Drones Near Airplanes > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Mar 25, 2016 9:41 PM UTC  A commercial passenger plane flies overhead as a multirotor quadcopter drone used for aerial photography flies on June 7, 2011 near Zeestow, Germany. (Sean Gallup--Getty Images) A commercial passenger plane flies overhead as a multirotor quadcopter drone used for aerial photography flies on June 7, 2011 near Zeestow, Germany. (Sean Gallup--Getty Images) Sean Gallup—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Mar 25, 2016 9:41 PM UTC More than 100 pilots report drone sightings every month, the [Federal Aviation Administration ](http://www.faa.gov/uas/law%5Fenforcement/uas%5Fsighting%5Freports/)announced Friday, causing significant concern for air safety as drones become increasingly popular. It’s illegal to operate drones around airplanes and airports, the FAA warned, yet the administration has seen a dramatic increase in the number of drone spottings in the last two years. Illegally operating a drone can result in a stiff fine or jail time. 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