07-04-2017, 09:33 AM
(07-04-2017, 08:09 AM)kharon Wrote: A witches brew.
Across the world – from Dubai to Hong Kong, from London to LA; the game of ‘tagging’ aircraft will continue for ‘You-tube’ cred or even on the ‘dark web’. Then there is the temptation to catch the ‘perfect’ aircraft shot; or to be ‘first-on-scene’ at an accident. It is a hellish brew for law enforcement, sheer weight of numbers before you even start to work out how to trap the drone and then how to prosecute. Even if you manage to trap and prosecute will that prevent future offences? How long will it be before those wishing to play Russian roulette with aircraft and peoples lives develop ‘ways and means’ of avoiding being nabbed?
It’s all well and good saying “thou shalt not” even the gods tried that – ten simple rules and look at the mess (and legal fees) that created. Should ‘drone’ incursion into airspace be given the same weight as an act of terrorism? Would that stop the ‘random’ - got bored and went over to the airport to play idiot? Probably, but will the dedicated, persistent offenders just get more cunning?
These are questions I cannot answer and I feel sorry for the poor sods who must. But I do know one thing for certain sure – I do not want one going down my ‘by-pass’.
Toot toot.
Update Gatwick UFO/UAV incident, via BALPA:
Quote:Pilots say more must be done before drone causes aircraft disaster, following incident at GatwickMTF...P2
[b]Release date: 02/07/2017[/b]
Pilots say more must be done before drone causes aircraft disaster, following incident at Gatwick
A drone flying close to aircraft at Gatwick causing flying to stop twice has prompted the UK pilots’ association to renew calls for better regulation and education.
The incident on Sunday (2nd July) led to the airport closing the runway for two periods of nine minutes and five minutes.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) has for some time been voicing its concern about the rise in near misses involving drones.
It’s calling for better education of users, compulsory registration during which the rules are made clear and more high profile prosecutions for offenders.
BALPA Flight Safety Specialist, Steve Landells, said:
“Yet another incident at Gatwick involving drones shows that the threat of drones being flown near manned-aircraft must be addressed before we see a disaster.
“Drones can be great fun, and have huge commercial potential, but with a significant increase in near-misses in recent years it seems not everyone who is flying them either know or care about the rules that are in place for good reason.
“While we take no issue with people who fly their drones in a safe and sensible manner, some people who fly them near airports or densely populated areas are behaving dangerously.
“We believe a collision, particularly with a helicopter, has the potential be catastrophic.
“Measures should be put in place that will allow the police to identify and locate anyone who flies a drone in an irresponsible way.
“Owing to the huge numbers of drones being sold, more technological solutions will undoubtedly be required to address this problem and should be mandated.
“These should include, amongst other things, geofencing as standard and a system whereby the drone transmits enough data for the police to locate the operator when it is flown in a dangerous manner.
“If the user has endangered an aircraft, we would like to see the culprit prosecuted; endangering an aircraft has a maximum sentence of five years in prison.”
