The Drive: “We are excited to announce the launch of our new interactive tool that maps and makes searchable thousands of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and unidentified aircraft incident reports. The vast dataset is drawn from information compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration. Some of the reports are highly unusual, going far beyond typical low-altitude drone mishaps. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to make a publicly available system that can both seamlessly search and map these incidents. Though the data in the reports is often cursory, it provides a mechanism to identify and further investigate significant incidents and to interpret broader trends. UAS incidents with manned aircraft have become increasingly commonplace in recent years, with some posing significant aviation safety and national security concerns. The term UAS is used to convey a wide variety of aircraft, including rotary and fixed-wing drones as well as balloons and less clearly identified types.  The War Zone has covered a number of high-profile UAS incidents. For example, earlier this year a “highly modified” drone in Tucson penetrated controlled airspace, leading to a prolonged helicopter chase and no success in identifying the operator or the high-performance drone type. Drones have also become a significant issue for nuclear reactor safety, including a still unresolved incident involving multiple drones descending on the nation’s most powerful nuclear reactor in Palo Verde, Arizona…”

• You can access the tool with its full feature set via this link, as well.