Another drone spotted at Kennedy Airport; 3rd in 3 days

QUEENS (WABC) -- There has been another drone sighting by a pilot who was landing at JFK Airport.

Sources confirm to ABC News that a pilot of a Shuttle America Flight coming in from Richmond Virginia spotted the drone on the left side of the plane as it approached the runway.

Port Authority Police are investigating the incident.

These three latest drone sightings so close to JFK Airport, only heighten the concern over national security.

Now some are wondering if new technology could keep them at bay.

"Say again?" Air Traffic Control said.

"That drone was on the edge of the runway," a pilot said.

The latest encounter with a drone came over night, when a Shuttle America, from Richmond reported the close call to air traffic controllers here at JFK, alarming the pilots.

"Altitude," Air Traffic Control said.

"30 feet," the pilot said.

This is the third time in as many days, concerning veteran commercial and military pilots like J.P. Tristani, an aviation consultant.

"What we're seeing is increasing danger of drones coming closer to aircraft at higher levels. One at JFK was about 1,700 feet. Within 100 feet of aircraft you're getting far to close," Tristani said.

The first two sightings came on Friday. First, a JetBlue flight from Haiti with the pilot saying it was within 100 feet of the cockpit.

"It just popped right underneath our nose," the pilot said.

Later that day, a drone startled a Delta pilot.

"What altitude would you say that was?" Air Traffic Control said.

"Would say probably about 100 feet below us, just off the right wing," the pilot said.

"There were incidents in Buffalo, in New York. There were incidents on Long Island and all over," said Sen. Charles Schumer, (D) New York.

So, Senator Schumer is in favor of using technology called geo-fencing built into the drone's software.

"That doesn't let them fly in certain places: within two miles of an airport, above 500 feet, over the Empire State Building, or the Pentagon. It's cheap and doesn't interfere with hobbyists," Sen. Schumer said.

While the Department of Homeland Security now reveals there have been 500 drone incidents since 2012, in its intelligence assessment they say drones can become a weapon of terrorists: "While many of these encounters are not malicious in nature, they underscore potential security vulnerabilities, that could be used by adversaries to leverage (drones) as part of an attack."

"Perhaps it's a testing of someone deciding to see just how good Homeland Security is, or how good aircraft are at seeing and avoiding," Tristani said.