Fighter jets scrambled after drone spotted near Ottawa airport

NORAD dispatched two CF-18 fighter jets to the skies over Ottawa after adrone was spotted flying near the airport of the nation's capital last month.

The CF-18s were scrambled from Canadian Forces BaseBagotvillein Quebecat about 5:45 p.m. ET on May 25, after commercial airline operators raised concerns about a "suspicious"unmanned aerial vehicle seen near the Ottawa airport, according to aDepartment of National Defence spokesperson.

The drone was spotted by the pilotsofWestJetFlight 366, from Toronto to Ottawa, as well asAir Canada Flight 458, also from Toronto to Ottawa.

The WestJet pilots flew past the droneas the Boeing 737 plane was descending into the Ottawa airportat about 4:45 p.m. ET.

The pilot'scall to the airport's air traffic controllers was recorded by the website liveATC.net, which monitors air traffic control communications across the globe.

Listen to the air traffic control audio here.

'We just flew pretty close to a drone'

"Just to let you know we just flew pretty close to a drone at 6,700 feet," a pilot can be heardtellingair traffic controllers.

After confirming the altitude, the pilot was advised to continue the plane'sheading and descent.

The pilots of the Air Canada flight spotted the drone on their descent in an Airbus A320 justa few minutes after the WestJet flight spotted it.

"I can see the drone," a pilot can be heard telling air traffic controllers in another recording.

The scrambled fighter jets were not able to locate the drone when they arrivedand thejetsreturned to CFB Bagotville, according to DND.TheRCMPis investigating.

Transport Canada files report

OnJune 6, nearly two weeks after the incident,Transport Canada filed areport about the sightings of a "large drone" near the flight paths of the two planes.

The report says the WestJetpilotsspotted the drone on the plane's left side at the same altitude of the plane, about 6,700 feet. The Air Canada flight was flying at 8,000 feet when its pilots spotted the drone about 1.8 kilometresto its left, flying about 2,000 feet below the plane's altitude.

The drone headed to the southeast at 37 to55 km/honradar and was lost at about 4:55 p.m. ET, the report states.

Residents in Ottawa who heard the CF-18 fighters wondered about their presence on social media.