CHICAGO — Pilots aboard an American Airlines Boeing 737 experienced a tense near-miss with an unauthorized drone shortly after departing Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Saturday, October 10.
Flight AA1936, bound for Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), was operating more than four hours behind schedule when it took off from Runway 22L at O’Hare around 5:30 p.m. CDT.
According to flight reports, the aircraft (a Boeing 737-800 registered as N893NN) executed a standard departure procedure, banking from a southerly heading toward the east as it gained altitude. Shortly after completing the turn while climbing through 7,000 feet near the Lake Michigan shoreline, the flight crew spotted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in close proximity.
The captain estimated that the drone passed within 100 to 200 feet of the passenger airliner, a dangerously close distance at high speeds and altitude.
Despite the alarming encounter, the flight crew maintained control without needing to take sudden evasive maneuvers. Flight AA1936 continued its route across the Great Lakes region and landed safely at Newark Liberty International Airport approximately 90 minutes later without further incident.
