[CBC] Calgary man criminally charged for flying drone near airport

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Aircraft are flying well above 100mph, often higher even during take off and landing. Bird strikes are a serious concern and are incredibly dangerous, and those are soft, light, and fleshy. Imagine a drone (metals, plastic, usually an explosive battery (lithium Ion) hitting an engine. Loosing an engine at takeoff is one of the most dangerous positions any pilot can be put in since you lost your only source of thrust, and you're moving very slow, and you'll have to do a full U-turn before you can attempt to land. These days it's not as big of a concern since most planes can loose an engine and still fly, but fire is now a hazard and engines are expensive.

well well above; at cruizing altitude most jetliners will do a good fraction of the speed of sound (at that altitude mind you - remember to factor in the low air density) which is a good 550 mph ground speed.  During landing they'll do stall speed + potential gusting tailwinds + a safety margin, so still a good 200 mph easy.

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Reading this while on the ctrian. 

 

My friend told me once they were playing a mayday marathon while he was on a flight back from florida

[MegaDave91]

Would it really be that bad? I mean if the aircraft crashed into it, surely it wouldn't feel anything ... right?

 

If so the case, they were over reacting, it is legal to go up to 500 feet.

That's no rational reason to allow them on or near the premise of an airport. 

 

Flying above 295ft (90m) is not permitted in Canada.

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That's no rational reason to allow them on or near the premise of an airport. 

 

Flying above 295ft (90m) is not permitted in Canada.

Not to mention that even if it was harmless, any impact like that would have to be logged and reported, and the aircraft would have to go for inspection, etc. It would cost the airline thousands in expenses and lost time, and possibly delay flights. Not to be taken lightly!

[Admiral Naismith]

well well above; at cruizing altitude most jetliners will do a good fraction of the speed of sound (at that altitude mind you - remember to factor in the low air density) which is a good 550 mph ground speed.  During landing they'll do stall speed + potential gusting tailwinds + a safety margin, so still a good 200 mph easy.

Lighter aircraft can and do land under 200mph. I was allowing for a broad range of aircraft and not just (the overwhelming majority in this case to be fair) jetliners.

[RagnarokDel]

Would it really be that bad? I mean if the aircraft crashed into it, surely it wouldn't feel anything ... right?

 

If so the case, they were over reacting, it is legal to go up to 500 feet.

a bird can provoke a crash, it's no different.

[Lethal Seraph]

I don't feel bad for him. He's a dumbass for endangering the public, I mean come on, his freaking 25yo.

[captain cactus]

Would it really be that bad? I mean if the aircraft crashed into it, surely it wouldn't feel anything ... right?

 

If so the case, they were over reacting, it is legal to go up to 500 feet.

 

Have you seen bird strikes? Yeah, same thing would happen with a drone hitting an engine or any other part of the plane. A drone may be light but we're talking about an airliner traveling at airliner speeds. The energy involved in that is often overlooked since many people don't believe a small drone can have an impact on an (in comparison) enormous plane. Even if the plane is safe, a damaged aircraft won't fly until the damage is repaired and that shit's expensive for the airline company, both for the actual repairs and the downtime of their aircraft not being able to carry passengers around which doesn't make them a penny.

[Yog]

I dunno, 9km seems excessive. That's like half of Calgary.

[Mo_z_Art]

How close to the airport did he fly?

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Lighter aircraft can and do land under 200mph. I was allowing for a broad range of aircraft and not just (the overwhelming majority in this case to be fair) jetliners.

True, some can't even hit 200 mph at full speed, but those types would be utterly obliterated by hitting a drone

[Mahawka]

based on the polls looks like majority of the people are in favour of criminal charges. 

[IgnorantBastrd]

It's called restricted airspace for a reason..

[Snadzies]

I'm not familiar with that area so I don't know how close/far from the airport that park is and I didn't see any mention of exactly how high the drone actually went, just that it could go upto 500ft up.

 

If this park is a mile or two from the airport and the drone was only 10 - 20ft in the air then, while still technically restricted, would pose no real threat to any planes.

If the park were closer and he were flying, say, 50ft or more in the air (as high as a 5 story building) then that would for sure be a different story.

 

Also, these drone regulations have come in very fast and I doubt there has been remotely enough done to spread the information about these new regulations.

I have not looked into buying a drone recently, does anyone know if when you buy a drone if they come with any paperwork talking about these regulations?

If you buy them online are there any links or disclaimers about the regulations?

People who had drones before these regulations were put in place, did you ever receive notice in the mail or via email from your respective governments, drone manufacturers or store you bought the drone from?

[KE2012]

-snip- That drone could interfere with aircraft communication, - snip-

 

As someone who has studied communication technology in uni extensively I seriously doubt this, you wouldn't believe how much technology goes into mobile comms to overcome interference, attenuation and the likes. Also Planes have their own designated part of the spectrum (VHF) for comms and as far as I know you require a special license to use anything in this spectrum (It's not handed out willy nilly to drone users)

/rant.

Edited January 24, 2016 by KE2012

[SolarNova]

"Man flew a drone strapped with explosives into flight path of aircraft"

 

Now THAT I could understand a criminal charge.

 

"man flew drone into flight path of aircraft"

 

...yea.. and ? those puny things wouldn't even dent the aircraft, let alone cause major harm. A bird strike causes more damage -.-

 

Im kinda getting the impression that, all the big companies and corporations, including law enforcement, military, and civil services, have had the use of 'drones' for years prior to consumer ones becoming so available. Now they are all like " hey ! they got our toys, quick lets restrict them !"

[bbqsauce]

"Man flew a drone strapped with explosives into flight path of aircraft"

 

Now THAT I could understand a criminal charge.

 

"man flew drone into flight path of aircraft"

 

...yea.. and ? those puny things wouldn't even dent the aircraft, let alone cause major harm. A bird strike causes more damage -.-

 

Im kinda getting the impression that, all the big companies and corporations, including law enforcement, military, and civil services, have had the use of 'drones' for years prior to consumer ones becoming so available. Now they are all like " hey ! they got our toys, quick lets restrict them !"

i'm sorry but that statement is outright wrong.

you wouldn't want anything remotely near any flying aircraft ever. There is a reason they do sweeps of runways for debris. even a small rock can cause harm to an engine. Runways can even be shut down if there is known FOD on the ground.

 

FOD the size of the drone getting sucked into the intake literally means the engine is gone. Worse than bird into an engine. They literally need to take down the engine if even a rock gets into the engine. (from my experience being in the airforce. I have seen rock damage all the fins of the turbine.)

Even if the drone doesn't get sucked into the turbines, hitting the plane at takeoff/landing speeds can still damage different portions of the aircraft.

What makes you think a bird strike would do more damage while the drone does no damage?

A birdstrike even if it doesn't hurt the aircraft is still a pain in the ass. Have you ever seen bird lodged in the wheel well of a plane? well i have, more precisely minced meat of a bird all over the wheel well. 

Similarly a drone can strike the wheel well, break off into god knows how many pieces. Maybe get lodged into some landing gear mechanism? What if the gear can't extend after retracting in flight? Or even shear off some hydraulic and electrical cables? so many things can go wrong, not to mention even if nothing happens, the amount of checks needed to ensure not a single bit of the drone is left on the aircraft/runway is present.

 

Furthermore, if the tower knows of this drone in the airspace, they will more than likely halt all traffic in and out of the airport. Now how much damage will that cause? hmm

On top of lives being at stake, the amount of time and money is costly. Its no laughing matter. especially when you are in a tin can flying in the air and something goes wrong, there is only 1 way out and that is down.