Emb-175 captain reported a close uas encounter at 1;600 feet on a four mile final to runway 27 at sa...

Attributes
ACN	1350507
Time
Date	201604
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	SAN.Airport
State Reference	CA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Airspace Violation All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Object
Miss Distance	Vertical 200

Narrative:

While on final approximately 1;600 feet MSL/4.0 NM from the airport; I pointed out what at first appeared to be a black balloon rapidly climbing and approaching us. The object flew above us; so no evasive action was required. As we got closer to the object; I realized it was not a balloon; but a large sized; black in color; remote controlled drone. I could see the angular shape of the frame. It was approximately 200 feet above us on final. We were on the visual approach; using the RNAV approach for guidance. We reported the sighting to tower; and when on the ground; clarified the position with ground control to pass it along to other aircraft. As with lasers; drones need to be regulated strictly; swiftly and quickly. Unfortunately; it will take a fatal accident to change the view of how deadly drones can be to any aircraft; especially passenger carrying aircraft. It is clear to me that current regulations in place are not strong enough to prevent people from flying drones. Something needs to change before there is a loss of life.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-175 Captain reported a close UAS encounter at 1;600 feet on a four mile final to Runway 27 at SAN.

Narrative: While on final approximately 1;600 feet MSL/4.0 NM from the airport; I pointed out what at first appeared to be a black balloon rapidly climbing and approaching us. The object flew above us; so no evasive action was required. As we got closer to the object; I realized it was not a balloon; but a large sized; black in color; remote controlled drone. I could see the angular shape of the frame. It was approximately 200 feet above us on final. We were on the visual approach; using the RNAV approach for guidance. We reported the sighting to tower; and when on the ground; clarified the position with ground control to pass it along to other aircraft. As with lasers; drones need to be regulated strictly; swiftly and quickly. Unfortunately; it will take a fatal accident to change the view of how deadly drones can be to any aircraft; especially passenger carrying aircraft. It is clear to me that current regulations in place are not strong enough to prevent people from flying drones. Something needs to change before there is a loss of life.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Emb-175 captain reported a close uas encounter at 1;600 feet on a four mile final to runway 27 at san.