LaGuardia-Bound Jet Has Close Call With Drone Near Brooklyn's Prospect Park: Officials

A passenger jet heading to LaGuardia Airport had a close call with a drone near Prospect Park in Brooklyn Friday morning, just hours after five pilots reported someone had pointed green lasers at their planes near New York-area airports, officials say.

Shuttle America flight 2708 was heading toward LaGuardia from Washington, D.C., when it encountered the unmanned aircraft in its flight path, officials say. The plane's pilot had to pull up about 200 feet to avoid the drone, authorities said. The plane later landed safely.

It wasn't clear how many people were on board. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating.

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The close call comes after the FAA said pilots flying passenger jets reported being targeted by a green laser while flying Thursday night.

Four of the planes were flying at an altitude of 8,000 feet about 4 miles northwest of Farmingdale on Long Island between 9:30  p.m. and 10 p.m. when the lasers were pointed at them, the FAA said.

The affected flights included one from American Airlines, one from Shuttle America, and two from Delta airlines. At least three of the flights had taken off from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

No injuries were reported.

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