Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 14; Flight Crew Total 2652
Distraction; Situational Awareness; Workload; Communication Breakdown; Confusion
Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Procedure
I departed my home airport to practice landings at ZZZ. A short distance from the airport; ATC said there was no observed traffic and that I should squawk 1200 and change to advisory frequency. I overflew the airport to the South to see the windsock; came over the runway on a cross wind and then entered downwind. I announced that I was downwind for Runway 3 on CTAF of 122.8. Then someone came on the radio warning me that there was a drone in the vicinity of the airport and gave the altitude and distance. I forgot the altitude they gave; but I vaguely recall the distance was 1 or 2 miles to the south of the airport (in the vicinity where I had just circled the airport). The person initially called themselves '[city] Tower'. There is no airport in [that city]. Alarmed that there was a drone nearby and not being able to see it and wondering who was talking on 122.8; I asked the individual to identify themselves. They wouldn't identify themselves. I asked if they were [company X]. The individual told me to stop asking questions over and basically get off the Unicom frequency and said nothing more other than that the drone 'shouldn't be a factor'. (This was of little reassurance; coming from some unknown individual on 122.8.) I was on final now. Not knowing where the drone was and not having visual contact; I decided to abort my landing; turn towards the North and away from the airport and drone. (I never did have a sighting of the drone and do not know how close I came while I was in the pattern which included being South of the airport where I was told the drone was). I did ask ATC if they had drone activity on the radar in my area and they said not. I returned and landed and called ATC. I learned over the course of two phone calls the following: 1) [company X] uses the call sign '[city tower]'; 2) There was a NOTAM for drone operations that day. 3) At some time (it may have been after the incident) [company X] had let ATC know that they had 'lost control' of one of their drones. The ATC controller believed it to be a '[UAV]'. Later I was told that the drone had [been lost] somewhere. My concerns are these: 1) I'm sure that [company X] has permission to test fly their drone aircraft in certain unpopulated areas. I'm sure that it does not include a mile or two from an airport. 2) I don't know when they communicated to ATC that they had lost control of one of their drones; but this information was never communicated to me by departure control who told me that there was no traffic in the vicinity of ZZZ. 3) The [drone] staff tried to conceal their identity on 122.8 only creating confusion for myself. I thought that some private drone owner was on the 122.8 frequency and flying their personal drone around the airport. (There has been instances of privately owned drones flying illegally in our area of recent past.)I would think that ATC should be notified immediately and updated as to the location of the drone. ATC; in turn; needs to communicate this to pilots operating in the area. (In this case; the drone operator apparently had GPS data as to where the drone was.)
A pilot approaching an airport was warned on CTAF frequency by an unknown operator; that a drone was operating nearby. The reporter returned to his departure airport to avoid conflict with the unseen drone.