General aviation pilot reported their passenger saw a UAS off their wingtip in cruise flight. The encounter was reported to ATC.

Date: 2024-02 · Aircraft: Small Aircraft · Phase: cruise

Anomalies: airspace-violation-all-types|conflict-nmac|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-unauthorized-flight-operations-uas|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy

Synopsis

General aviation pilot reported their passenger saw a UAS off their wingtip in cruise flight. The encounter was reported to ATC.

Narrative

While on an IFR flight from CAE (Columbia Metro) to ZZZ; I was level at 5;000 ft. MSL at approximately XA:41 just east of the UNJAM GPS fix when my passenger; sitting in the right seat of my aircraft observed a white egg-shaped object; that she identified as a drone; pass just off of our starboard wing. The rearward field of view is not very wide in this small airplane; but when she turned around; she was still able to see it through the rear window; indicating that it was indeed very close to our direct line of flight and at our altitude. I immediately reported this near miss to Columbia Approach. Further research indicates that the unmanned aircraft type was similar to a PowerVision PowerEgg X.When I further queried her about the specifics; her estimation was that the object passed inside of two wing lengths from the fuselage; or about 30 feet away. This puts it probably within 10 feet of the wingtip. It is highly unusual to observe UAS at this altitude; but the description that my passenger gave was quite specific and visually matched something very closely resembling the PowerEgg X.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.