Indianapolis center controller reported an near midair collision between a piper and a drone; and al...

Narrative:

Aircraft X was level at FL210 and asked me if there was any known drone activity in the area. I responded; 'negative; why?' his response was; 'we just went right by one. It was big and black'. I asked the pilot if it was the type with 4 rotors to which he responded affirmative. I had an aircraft climbing in that same general area so I reported it to him two times. Upon leaving my sector the climbing aircraft said he never saw it. I immediately reported it to the flm [front line manager] and he proceeded to do his checklist and paperwork. Approximately 5 min after the incident the flm had me ask the pilot if he could tell what direction the uav was traveling and if he considered it to be a near miss. The pilot said it appeared to be hovering in one spot and that he came within approximately 50 feet of it; and he definitely considered it a near miss. I looked the situation up in the 7110.65 later and discover that advisories are supposed to be broadcast every 4 min after the last report; similar to a laser event. We have not had proper training on uav activity so I was unaware of this requirement. [Recommend] proper training on unauthorized uav activity.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Indianapolis Center Controller reported an NMAC between a Piper and a drone; and also failure on Controller's report to broadcast for 15 minutes afterward.

Narrative: Aircraft X was level at FL210 and asked me if there was any known drone activity in the area. I responded; 'Negative; why?' His response was; 'We just went right by one. It was big and black'. I asked the pilot if it was the type with 4 rotors to which he responded affirmative. I had an aircraft climbing in that same general area so I reported it to him two times. Upon leaving my sector the climbing aircraft said he never saw it. I immediately reported it to the FLM [Front Line Manager] and he proceeded to do his checklist and paperwork. Approximately 5 min after the incident the FLM had me ask the pilot if he could tell what direction the UAV was traveling and if he considered it to be a near miss. The pilot said it appeared to be hovering in one spot and that he came within approximately 50 feet of it; and he definitely considered it a near miss. I looked the situation up in the 7110.65 later and discover that advisories are supposed to be broadcast every 4 min after the last report; similar to a laser event. We have not had proper training on UAV activity so I was unaware of this requirement. [Recommend] proper training on unauthorized UAV activity.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1578620
Time
Date	201809
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZID.ARTCC
State Reference	IN
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-46 Malibu/Malibu Mirage/Malibu Matrix
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Person 1
Function	Enroute
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 13
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict NMAC Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR

Indianapolis center controller reported an near midair collision between a piper and a drone; and also failure on controller's report to broadcast for 15 minutes afterward.