Plane sustained minor damage after hitting drone near Quebec City Garneau

Canada's transport minister says he's relieved a commercial aircraft sustained only minor damage when it was hit by a drone near Quebec City's airport last week.

Marc Garneau says the incident occurred on Thursday when a Skyjet plane was struck as it approached the Jean Lesage airport.

The plane was able to land safely.

Garneau said in a news release that it's the first time a drone has hit a commercial aircraft in Canada.

He says flying drones near airports violates Transport Canada regulations and anyone who is found to have endangered the safety of an aircraft could face a $25,000 fine or prison time.

The news release says 1,596 drone incidents have been reported to Transport Canada in 2017, and 131 of them were deemed aviation safety concerns.