Medium Transport
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert
Aircraft; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
On departure from SEA; ATC warned us that a drone had been sighted at approximately 6;000 feet at the cloud tops in the vicinity of our flight path. Both my First Officer and I maintained a lookout. Climbing through 6;100 feet; I spotted the drone about 200 feet off my right side; about 100 feet below our altitude. Due to the clouds and small size of the drone; I spotted it less than one second before we crossed its position. Had there been a conflict; I would not have had enough space to execute an avoidance maneuver. The drone near miss was promptly reported to ATC with the recommendation to not send any aircraft through this airspace. There were no TCAS indications of the drone. A timely report from ATC alerted us to that hazard; but ATC did not provide any specific instructions to avoid the traffic.ATC knew a drone was operating in the vicinity of NEVJO; but continued to send aircraft on the SUMMA 2 departure. A simple vector on departure would have eliminated this potential threat to our aircraft. The drone was large enough and our rate of closure was great enough; that if could have caused significant damage to our aircraft had there been a midair collision.
Air carrier Captain reported an NMAC with a drone during departure from SEA airport.