Pilot reports of drone sightings more than double this year

The government says pilot reports of drone sightings so far this year are more than double last year.

The Federal Aviation Administration says in a statement that there have been more than 650 reports this year by pilots of unmanned aircraft flying near manned aircraft. There were 238 drone sightings in all of 2014.

The reports come from pilots of a variety of aircraft, including many large airliners.

There were 16 drone sightings reported in June 2014, and 36 the following month. This year, there were 138 reports from pilots flying up to 10,000 feet in altitude in June, and 137 reports in July.

Firefighters battling wildfires in the west have been forced to ground their operations on several occasions after drones were spotted.