Story ID: 
Portugal Studies Near Midairs Involving Drones
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: Safety study will examine recent incidents involving the presence of drones in aircraft flight paths near Portuguese airports.
Word Count: 192
The Portuguese Air Traffic Accident Prevention and Investigation Office (GPIAAF) is leading a safety study into recent incidents involving the presence of drones in aircraft flight paths near Portuguese airports. The study will include participation by external experts and stakeholders. 

GPIAAF director Nelson Oliveira said the study intends to examine the characteristics and history of such occurrences in the country, analyze the effectiveness of the national regulations in this matter and compare those with the practices that are being used in other countries for the prevention of this type of occurrence, with a view to the possible issuance of recommendations to relevant agencies.

Since the beginning of the year, the GPIAAF has reported eight such incidents. The most recent was on June 16, when an Aero Vip regional airliner with 14 people on board was forced to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with a drone at about 1,000 feet msl as the aircraft approached to land at Cascais Municipal Airport.

Meanwhile, the Aviation Safety Network said that there have been two collisions between an aircraft and a drone and four suspected collisions worldwide since mid-1997.