A rising problem
“POLICE investigations are under way after there were ‘two near misses’ involving drones and aircraft coming into land at the Airport” JEP, 31/07/2018
Drones are becoming a serious threat to aircraft. In March this year, the Daily Telegraph reported that near misses between drones and planes have more than tripled in two years:
"Some 92 incidents were recorded in 2017, according to analysis of UK Airprox Board (UKAB) data. This is compared with 71 during the previous 12 months and 29 in 2015. "
Former RAF and British Airways pilot Steve Landells, flight safety specialist at pilots' union Balpa, described the figures as "very worrying". He believes the true extent of the problem could be even more severe as pilots struggle to see drones from cockpits. “It's really hard to see something that small. here's a possibility there are a lot more near misses that aren't being seen. This could just be the tip of the iceberg."
Mr Landells explained that pilots are particularly concerned about near misses which occur when they are preparing to land: "It's a critical stage of the flight and you really don't need to be distracted. If you see a drone flying past your cockpit it's a real shock to the system. Anything that distracts you from getting the aircraft down on the ground is a safety hazard."
The Telegraph notes that twenty-eight near misses in the past year were classified as having the most serious risk of a collision. These included incidents near the London airports of Heathrow, Gatwick and London City, as well as Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol.
“POLICE investigations are under way after there were ‘two near misses’ involving drones and aircraft coming into land at the Airport” JEP, 31/07/2018
Drones are becoming a serious threat to aircraft. In March this year, the Daily Telegraph reported that near misses between drones and planes have more than tripled in two years:
"Some 92 incidents were recorded in 2017, according to analysis of UK Airprox Board (UKAB) data. This is compared with 71 during the previous 12 months and 29 in 2015. "
Former RAF and British Airways pilot Steve Landells, flight safety specialist at pilots' union Balpa, described the figures as "very worrying". He believes the true extent of the problem could be even more severe as pilots struggle to see drones from cockpits. “It's really hard to see something that small. here's a possibility there are a lot more near misses that aren't being seen. This could just be the tip of the iceberg."
Mr Landells explained that pilots are particularly concerned about near misses which occur when they are preparing to land: "It's a critical stage of the flight and you really don't need to be distracted. If you see a drone flying past your cockpit it's a real shock to the system. Anything that distracts you from getting the aircraft down on the ground is a safety hazard."
The Telegraph notes that twenty-eight near misses in the past year were classified as having the most serious risk of a collision. These included incidents near the London airports of Heathrow, Gatwick and London City, as well as Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol.
At least one collision so far
There has been at least one collision. This was reported at heathrow in April 2016 after a British Airways pilot said his plane, which was coming into land at Heathrow Terminal 5, had been hit by a drone. It landed safely.
CNet News reported that:
"The drone reportedly hit BA flight 727, an Airbus 320, from the front. "Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight," a British Airways spokeswoman told me. "Safety and security are always our first priority and we will give the police every assistance with their investigation"
Potential Hazards
And the Telegraph notes:
"A study part-funded by the Department for Transport found that a drone weighing 2kg could critically damage a plane windscreen in the event of a mid-air collision. "
"Some tests have suggested that drone collisions could be more damaging than "bird strikes", which happen when birds collide with an aeroplane and damage its engine. This happened most famously in 2009 when a plane landed safely on the Hudson River in New York after striking a flock of Canada geese which took out both its engines. "
A near miss
Cnet News reported in April 2018
"A drone came extremely close to an Airbus 319 that was taking off from Heathrow Airport on Jan. 7. So much so that the board gave the incident its highest-risk rating. The report says the Airbus was at 4,800 ft. when "a medium-sized, white drone passed directly overhead, with an estimated separation of 20 ft.” The board says the pilot had no time to take any corrective action. "
What can be done?
So what can be done? The BBC reports that:
The US recently introduced a compulsory registration scheme so any drone recovered from an accident can be traced back to its owner.
In addition, officials could make it mandatory for drones to run geo-fencing software - that would prevent them flying in restricted areas.
Kennedy Law notes that:
“Around the world, it is estimated that about 1.5 million drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – excluding those used for military purposes – are already airborne with that number expected to triple by 2020.”
“The risks posed by drones range from the loss of the UAV itself and any equipment it is carrying, to damage to property and bodily injury, as well as breach of privacy and the potential for catastrophic loss if it strays into controlled airspace and hits a plane or a helicopter.”
Barnaby Winckler, partner in Kennedy Law, says that:
“Insurers would like to see them compulsorily registered and flight logs maintained. Even relatively small and inexpensive drones should increasingly be able to send back data that in principle can be stored and that would assist in understanding the causes of any incident involving the relevant system.”
The EU Aviation Safety Regulations and New Laws
Meanwhile, the Register reports that this year:
“The EU Aviation Safety Agency has formally opined that drone hobbyists should be banned from carrying out beyond visual-line-of-sight flights.”
“If the opinion is adopted, virtually all medium-sized hobby and prosumer drones will be caught by the new EU rules, effectively turning their pilots into criminals – unless they register their craft with regulators and pass mandatory tests.”
“Operators of drones with a mass of more than 250g will have to pass various competency tests and register with the State – something the British government has already announced will take place in the UK. “
And for Jersey??
It would be useful to know if Jersey is going to follow the EU and UK’s lead and start preparing its own legislation. Given the recent incidents, that would be timely indeed.
Appendix:
The following incidents, noted in the UK during 2015 and 2016, give an idea of the scale and type of incident involved.
27 August 2015 - A DO328 aircraft flew within 50ft of a drone while approaching Manchester Airport at 2,800ft
13 September 2015 - A drone flew over the top of a B737 aircraft while at 4,000ft, missing it by about 5m, shortly after it left Stansted
13 September 2015 - A silver drone with a "balloon-like" centre missed an E170 aircraft by about 20m, while the plane was approaching London City Airport over the Thames
22 September 2015 - A "quadcopter-type drone" missed the right-hand side of a B777 plane by about 25m while at 2,000ft after it left Heathrow Airport
30 September 2015 - A small drone helicopter passed within 30ft of the cockpit of an A319 plane while on the approach to Heathrow
28 November 2015 - The pilot of an A321 plane narrowly missed a drone hovering at 100ft above a runway at Gatwick Airport
17 April 2016 - A British Airways plane approaching Heathrow is believed to have hit a drone while in midair
References https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2018/07/31/police-look-into-drone-near-misses-at-airport/
https://www.cnet.com/news/drone-near-miss-with-160-passenger-plane-given-highest-risk-rating/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/19/drone-near-misses-triple-two-years/
https://www.cnet.com/news/drone-crashes-into-landing-plane-passenger-heathrow-airport/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36067591
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/26/easa_drone_regs_opinion/
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