Paul Walter learned to fly an airplane well before he was licensed to drive a car.
Those decades of experience make Walter a cool customer in the air. Even on a day last September when a strange object over Milwaukee zipped past his Piper PA-39.
"My wife says 'look at that!' And, boom we saw a large drone. It was off our wing about 50 feet," Walter said.
Walter had a dangerously close encounter with a drone. A big one too, flying much higher than he thought was possible at about 5,000 feet.
That drone was also in the protected airspace around Mitchell International Airport.
Walter's first instinct was to warn other pilots, so he reported the drone to the tower at Mitchell.
A drone around an airport, Walter said, could have deadly consequences.
"If it went through the windshield that could be serious to say the least. It could kill the pilot," he said.
Walter is just one of thousands of pilots to encounter and report a drone in the protected airspace around an airport.
Federal law creates a five mile bubble around airports where drones can only fly with permission from the tower.
The I-TEAM discovered dangerous drone operators break that law an average of six times a day.
Records reviewed by the I-TEAM show just last year, pilots reported more than 2,100 unregistered drones in protected airspace.
In Wisconsin, it happened 11 times. Five of those close calls came in the bubble around Mitchell International Airport.
Another came on May 27, 2017, when Southwest Flight 4437 was coming in to land.
Radio transmissions and FAA records show the drone was near a runway while 4437 was lining up for final approach.
"Right at 2,000 feet off the left hand side, looks like a small drone," the pilot is heard telling air traffic control.
Aerospace engineer Javid Bayandor worries about what would happen if a jet engine were to collide with a drone.
He studies drones at the CRASH lab, at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
A pilot, Bayandor says, would have little time to avoid a drone in its path.
"If you have a large commercial aircraft at such a high speed, by the time the aircraft sees you, it would be too late," Bayandor said.
Simulations run by the CRASH lab show what a drone would do to a jet engine.
In one posted to YouTube, an eight pound drone is seen tearing a jet engine to shreds.
One of the jet engine's blades is dislodged and sent careening through the entire fan assembly. Catastrophic damage is done in less than a second.
"Depending on the size of the drone, it could be dislodged. If it's larger, it could cause more serious problems," Bayandor said.
So what does the FAA do to fight this risk?
In most cases reviewed by the I-TEAM, it simply calls local police.
Greenfield was sent to look for the drone called in by Southwest 4437.
An officer searched the area around college avenue and 51st street -- but found nothing.
On July 16. 2017, a pilot reported three drones near an approach to Mitchell Airport.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office sent deputies to check out that report. Again, they found nothing.
The I-TEAM discovered this happens almost every time.
Of 2,122 drone reports called in last year only 19 resulted with the pilot tracked down and fined.
In a statement, the FAA said that's as far as they can go.
"Drones entering the National Airspace System — whether recreational or authorized commercial use — are expected to operate safely and avoid manned aircraft at all times. Many drone operators are new to the aviation community and do not understand that they are flying in shared airspace. The FAA has developed a number of tools to educate these individuals about how to fly safely and responsibly. While education is key, the agency also recognizes that it has limits, and we take reports of unsafe or unauthorized operations very seriously. Operators who fly recklessly or endanger other aircraft risk stiff fines and criminal penalties, including possible jail time," said Elizabeth Isham Cory, External Communications/Public Affairs official for the FAA.
"The FAA does not impose criminal penalties. That's a question for law enforcement," a spokesperson said.
Just last month, the Government Accountability Office determined FAA needs to do more.
It released a study on drones with a clear warning in the title: "FAA should improve its management of safety risks."
Read the GAO report "FAA Should Improve Its Management of Safety Risks"
The GAO cites the research of professor Bayandor and the CRASH lab as a reason why.
"It's time for us to look into proper regulations. We are not trying to limit anyone, but proper regulations that would make sure all of us are safe," he said.
For pilots like Paul Walter, drones are just the latest potential problem on their radar.
Except a drone flying where it shouldn't be is too small to see until it's too late.
"We could have never missed it if we were on a collision course. By the time we saw it, we were upon it," Walter said.
Steve Chamraz is a news anchor and investigative reporter for TODAY'S TMJ4. To contact Steve with a story idea, email him at steve.chamraz@tmj4.com