Federal officials launched an investigation after three commercial pilots reported drones flying near their planes while on final approach to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport this week.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the latest incident occurred Wednesday as a JetBlue pilot flying from Savannah, Georgia reported seeing a drone about 400 feet when it was about two miles from the runway.

"About two miles out on the final, maybe 4 to 300 feet, looks like one of those unmanned drones is flying right on the final," the pilot to air traffic control said at that time, according to NBC 4 New York.

A pilot on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London also reported a drone sighting around 3,000 feet near the jet just after 8 p.m. while it was approaching JFK.

Moments later, a pilot on a Delta flight from San Diego reported seeing a drone near its left wing as it was flying over Nassau County, about 10 miles away from the airport.

"We just had something fly over us," the Delta pilot told air traffic control. "I don't know if it was a drone or a balloon, it just came real quick."

Fortunately, all three flights were able to land safely, reports The Associated Press.

After Nassau County Police, the FBI and the FAA were put on alert, officials sent up a helicopter to search for the drone and its operator on both Sunday and Wednesday. However, a Nassau County police spokesman said the department had no luck in locating the device.

Ken Honig, a former Port Authority Inspector, warned about the potential danger that can occur when drones get too close to planes.

"These planes are all being approached [by drones] while the planes are landing, so they're close to the ground, which means the pilot doesn't have a whole lot of room for maneuvering," he told NBC 4. "If the unmanned aerial vehicle gets too close to a plane, it could get sucked into a jet engine. The kind of damage done by a bird could be amplified by the metal parts in a UAV."

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