Tests reveal ‘catastrophic’ effect of drone strike on aircraft
The UK Government has unveiled plans to introduce compulsary registration of drones and safety awareness courses for owners.
It also wants to bring forward and expand the use of ‘go-fencing’, where drones are stopped from entering no-fly zones, such as airports, by using GPS co-ordinates.
The proposals will be welcomed by pilots who have been campaigning for urgent action against drone use around airpots, particularly after independent test results revealed the ‘catastrophic’ damage they could cause to an aircraft.
A project, jointly funded by the British Airline Pilots’ Association, (BALPA), the Department for Transport and the Military Aviation Authority, revealed a larger ‘hobbyist-class’ drone could penetrate an aircraft windscreen.
BALPA said the results of the tests are a ‘robust verification’ of its warnings over several years that drone impacts on aircraft windscreens and helicopter rotors can be catastrophic, even at relatively modest speeds with small drones, and that the industry and regulator cannot rely on bird-strike data and certification for drones.
BALPA general secretary Brian Strutton said: "We wrote to the Secretary of State on 20th April 2017 calling for swift Government action to tackle this potentially life-threatening risk and the independent report fully justifies this.
"Pilots have been warning about the rise in the number of cases of drones being flown irresponsibly close to aircraft and airports for some time.
"This report clearly shows that readily-available drones which can be flown by anyone can shatter or go straight through an aircraft windshield or shatter a helicopter rotor. And those impacts would have catastrophic consequences.
"We are pleased the Department for Transport and Military Aviation Authority partnered with this BALPA on this testing and we are reassured that the matter is being taken seriously in the corridors of power.
"We will wait to see the details, but we are encouraged that the Government has taken onboard calls for a registration and licensing scheme for drones and drone users. This will help ensure users understand and follow safety rules, and help the police trace drones if needed.
"We hope that urgent Government action will now follow to control this proven threat before there is a disaster and lives are lost."
The new registration scheme would apply to anyone who owns a drone which weighs more than 250 grams (8oz).
- Investment in technology to allow air traffic controllers to ‘see’ drones when a conflict with a manned aircraft is possible.
- Resourcing the police and the CAA to enforce the law and ensure safe skies.
- High-profile prosecutions to highlight the problem and make people aware that flying drones dangerously could lead to five years in prison.
- Immediate introduction of air traffic control procedures to reduce aircraft speeds to safe levels when a drone is reported as a possible threat.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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