A Boeing 737 passenger jetliner has possibly struck a drone while landing in Tijuana, Mexico, causing a considerable amount of damage to its nose. [Update: A drone strike has been ruled out. See below.]
Last month, the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) published an article and video showing what happens when a drone collides with an airplane wing at high speeds. The Chinese drone juggernaut DJI wasn't pleased with the study: it's demanding that UDRI withdraw the video and article, calling it "misleading."
As drones continue to explode in popularity, there have been more and more stories of operators flying way too close to airplanes. Now new research is revealing just how much damage a direct drone strike would do to an airplane's wing.