The pilot of a Seair Cessna 208 on floats told authorities he came within 10 feet of a collision with quadcopter last Aug. 1.
The pilot reported he was on final for the water runway on the Fraser River adjacent to Vancouver International Airport when he spotted the small UAS.
The Vancouver Sun reported the aircraft was only about 40 feet above the water when the UAS appeared in front of the plane.
RCMP Cpl. Dennis Hwang said it’s the closest call so far among 19 such encounters at YVR in the past year.
“We are following up on leads — we might have a suspect,” said Hwang.
Seair operations manager Terry Hiebert told the Sun UAS sightings are on the increase and they are a concern.
“There was no impact, but it’s just rather startling. Drones should not be out next to an international airport,” said Hiebert.