Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Distraction; Workload; Situational Awareness
Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Procedure; Human Factors
During approach to Teterboro on the ILS Runway 6 at approximately 2000 feet MSL in VMC just inside VINGS intersection; a large red drone crossed underneath the aircraft from left to right approximately 500-800 feet below. The flight crew barely noticed anything other than a brief flash of color in an area where there should not have been any aircraft and there was no TCAS traffic indicated. Shortly after landing; the flight attendant reported seeing a large red drone pass underneath the left wing; close enough to be able to see the rotors spinning on the drone. The flight attendant was located at Seat 5; mid-cabin on the left side of the aircraft and had a fairly good view of the area to the left and below the aircraft. Without knowing the size of the drone; it would be difficult to estimate the lateral and vertical separation from the target but it is fairly clear the drone was well above the 600 feet AGL limit. Teterboro ground was advised of the encounter during taxi which prompted a follow-up call to the flight crew from New York Approach Control Operations who took a report. Company was notified and an Operational Incident Report was filed. As pilots; we have become quite accustomed to looking for conflicting FULL SIZED aircraft traffic and relying on TCAS to provide an additional layer of awareness and safety. In a large metro area; at relatively low altitude; close in to an airport; it is just not part of the normal traffic scan to be looking BELOW the aircraft unless helicopter traffic has been called or TCAS indicates a potential threat. The new reality is that low altitude drone aircraft are increasingly invading arrival and departure corridors around airports due to proliferation of the devices; lack of awareness or training of the operators; and lax oversight by the FAA that has ALLOWED the proliferation of these threats to aviation safety. Their small size; haphazard flight paths; and unregulated operations make them an extremely difficult threat to identify and mitigate while in flight. Greater vigilance is required by all participants in this issue.
Corporate jet Captain reported a near miss with a UAV on approach to TEB Runway 6 at 2000 ft.