Mystery drones now raising safety concerns

The mystery drones that started as a curiosity are now being viewed as a potential hazard. The unmanned aircraft, flying in groups above Colorado, impacting a professional pilot and raising safety concerns. 

"The drone just went right underneath us," said Kirk Peebles, a Flight for Life pilot out of Lakewood, Colorado. 

Peebles was headed to a call near Fort Morgan when a drone invaded his airspace, threatening the safety of him and his crew.

"They're not telling anybody who they are, where they're going, what they're doing," he said. 

This is the first time one of the mystery drones flying over Colorado has come into dangerous proximity with a manned craft. As a result, the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, along with the Department of Public Safety and other pilots, are taking notice. 

"Drones have become a concern. They are competing for airspace and we're aware of and we're trying to mitigate but it's become a major issue with this big group with the drones that are getting all this notoriety," said Brando Laird. 

Laird owns Colorado Highland Helicopters in Durango. He teaches people how to fly in the mountains and says avoiding other aircraft is easier when there's another pilot involved.

"We are used to operating in an environment when we're looking out for each other and the drone eliminates half of that equation so we are left being responsible to avoid the drone and the drone doesn't try to avoid us and it can definitely be dangerous causes a lof of grief," he said. 

Danna Shumpert from Hillrose, Colorado says she came into contact with a drone about three weeks ago.

"I actually saw one and it threw me off guard and it made my heart sink it was huge," she said. 

Now, she helps run a growing Facebook page, monitoring drones over Colorado and Nebraska. The group has thousands of members and is growing every day as the curious and the conspiratorial come together looking for answers.