LEFT: Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau speaks to the media in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Bolin/Files; RIGHT: An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle conducts tests over Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. REUTERS/US Navy/Erik Hildebrandt/Northrop Grumman/Handout/Files

 

A drone hit an aeroplane landing at a Quebec City airport this week, the first time an unmanned flying object has collided with commercial aircraft in Canada, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Sunday.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which happened on Thursday at Jean Lesage International Airport and involved a plane belonging to Quebec-based Skyjet Aviation.

?I am extremely relieved that the aircraft only sustained minor damage and was able to land safely,? Garneau said in a statement.

There were six passengers and two crew members on board the aeroplane at the time of the collision, according to local news media reports.

Drones are not allowed within 5.5 km (3.4 miles) of Canadian airports, helipads, and seaplane bases. Operators, who put aircraft at risk, face steep fines and jail time under Canadian law.

Drone usage has soared in North America, Europe, and China, raising privacy concerns and fears of collisions with commercial jets, and prompting the United Nations? aviation agency to back the creation of a single global drone registry.

There have been 1,596 drone incidents reported to Transport Canada so far this year, with 131 of them deemed to be aviation safety concerns.

In November 2016, a Canadian airliner with 54 passengers on board had to swerve to avoid an unmanned flying object near Toronto, slightly injuring two cabin crew.