If you're seeing more and more flying objects in the skies, you're not alone. Drone use is rapidly growing across the country, but it comes with a price. Reports of errant drones flying too close to passenger airlines and other aircraft are soaring.
According to Bloomberg Business, Federal Aviation Administration data shows there were more than five times the number of drone safety reports in 2015 compared to 2014.
There were 256 reports in 2014 and 1,200 last year.
In the metro, KC Drone Company is hosting the Smart City Tech Summit through Thursday. The company will demonstrate its technology to roughly 300 government and business leaders.
Casey Adams from KC Drone Company recommends learning about drones through the Academy of Model Aeronautics before flying one.
"If you don't know how to operate your drone, if you don't know exactly how it works, you can have a malfunction and it flies up into the national air space, affecting manned aircraft," Adams said.
The FAA is using educational initiatives and a drone registry, introduced for the first time in December, to combat the safety issue.
------
Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.
