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Drone Mischief (Harassment; Crime; Pranks; Etc.)

rynner2

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Luckily this was an incident rather than an accident:
'Reckless drone operator' in 'near miss' with Flybe flight
11 August 2016

A "reckless drone operator" is being sought by police after reports of a "near miss" between a drone and plane.
The Flybe passenger aircraft was flying at about 900ft (275m) and was about 2 miles (3km) from Cornwall Airport Newquay when it happened on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Devon and Cornwall Police conducted a search of the area but have not found the drone or operator.
Insp Dave Meredith called it "an incredibly concerning incident".
"The close proximity of the drone to the passenger aircraft shows a complete disregard by the operator for public safety and we are appealing to the public for information to help us track down this reckless drone operator," Insp Meredith said.

A spokeswoman for Cornwall Airport Newquay confirmed a drone had flown within the air traffic zone adjacent to the final approach to the airport as the plane flew in from London Stansted carrying 62 passengers.
"Although on this occasion there was no danger of collision, Air Traffic Control (ATC) reported this incident to the police as the drone should not have been flown in that area without ATC clearance and posed a potential danger to incoming flights," she said.

A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: "Airspace proximity incidents, whether involving two aircraft, or a drone and an aircraft, need to be fully investigated to establish the level of risk involved."
The UK Airprox Board, which investigates airspace proximity incidents, said it had not received any official report of the incident yet.

Flybe said it would "work closely" with all relevant authorities to help identify the perpetrators of any activity which could jeopardise passenger safety.

Operators of any small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not fly them within 50m (164 ft) of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the user's control, unless they have obtained permission from the Civil Aviation Authority, according to the Air Navigation Order 2009.
Figures have shown there were more reported near misses between drones and aircraft over the UK in the first six months of 2016 than the whole of the previous year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-37042796
 
Drone Hits Passenger Liner Landing At Mozambique Airport

The plane landed safely.

Boeing-737-700-collided-with-a-drone-on-approach-to-Tete-Mozambique.jpg
 
A farmer has insisted he will shoot down the next drone that appears over his property for fear it is being used by burglars to 'case out' his land.

Robert O'Shea, who farms near Thurles, Co Tipperary, was reacting to comments made by a Garda superintendent, who told a recent meeting of the Joint Policing Committee in Sligo that it is illegal to shoot down a drone.

"Gun licences are granted under strict conditions which do not include shooting down aircraft, and as drones are technically considered aircraft, I would caution anyone against shooting at drones," said Sligo/Leitrim Division Chief Superintendent, Michael Clancy.

However, Mr O'Shea, whose property was burgled three years ago, and who recently observed a drone hovering over his farmyard, has said that farmers should defend their property against those using the mechanically propelled machines. "To be honest, while it may be illegal to do, shooting these things down is the only real solution," he said. ...

http://www.independent.ie/business/...d-warns-farmer-after-burglaries-35439045.html
 
I think he's perfectly entitled to shoot drones down if they're over his land.
Rewrite the law to put drones into a separate category. Make it a legal requirement for drone owners to ask for permission to film over private land.
 
I think he's perfectly entitled to shoot drones down if they're over his land.
Rewrite the law to put drones into a separate category. Make it a legal requirement for drone owners to ask for permission to film over private land.

I fear that a farmer who hasn't been to Specsavers might shoot down a helicopter.
 
I think he's perfectly entitled to shoot drones down if they're over his land.
Rewrite the law to put drones into a separate category. Make it a legal requirement for drone owners to ask for permission to film over private land.
^^this^^
 
Gatwick??

Why the hell haven't they just had the military jam the signal as soon as it's spotted in the air?

Hundreds of flights grounded and thousands stranded: it's not like this drone problem is new.
 
Gatwick??

Why the hell haven't they just had the military jam the signal as soon as it's spotted in the air?

Hundreds of flights grounded and thousands stranded: it's not like this drone problem is new.


Ah, I was watching this on the news this afternoon and wondering if it would be mentioned on 'ere. Seems a most bizarre situation (and I feel sorry for all the passengers not getting their flights).

I did wonder why the drone couldn't just be shot down or summat.

Is it a straight-forward thing to jam the signal?


[sarcasm]Of course, Our Great Leader made a statement saying it is illegal to fly drones near airports so I fully expect the person or persons responsible to have removed their drone by now. Clearly they didn't know it was illegal until she said.[/sarcasm]
 
Ah, I was watching this on the news this afternoon and wondering if it would be mentioned on 'ere. Seems a most bizarre situation (and I feel sorry for all the passengers not getting their flights).

I did wonder why the drone couldn't just be shot down or summat.

Is it a straight-forward thing to jam the signal?


[sarcasm]Of course, Our Great Leader made a statement saying it is illegal to fly drones near airports so I fully expect the person or persons responsible to have removed their drone by now. Clearly they didn't know it was illegal until she said.[/sarcasm]

If I recall, the technology was designed by British companies.

http://liteye.com/products/counter-uas/auds/

If the British Army don't have any, I'd expect they have an alternative design.

Edit: Yes, it was British designed:
http://www.chess-dynamics.com/news/...iled-by-trio-of-british-technology-companies/
 
Ah interesting, never knew that.

Shocking that the situation is still on-going.

What's also shocking is that the civil aviation authority has classified the incident as extraordinary, which means the airlines are not obligated to compensate the poor buggers sleeping in a terminal.
 
Or train falcons to attack the drones. A nicely low tech solution.

The Dutch police use eagles. If you have to use birds of prey, do it in maximum style.

I'd imagine, given the limited bandwidth on the radio spectrum allocated to drone control, it would be easy enough to triangulate the location of any transmitters (i.e. controllers) within operating range. Jamming it likely isn't an option - far as I know, jamming any radio signals in the UK is illegal (don't know if law enforcement/armed forces are allowed to do it). The army (and, most likely, their anti-drone tools) are now on site.

This odd situation is also spawning a few online conspiracy theories. Was it set up to divert attention from the above-normal-level chaos in Parliament? Was it a protest about the recent arrest at Gatwick of far-right activist Jayda Fransen? Were they controlled by Russian agents disrupting a busy airport at a particularly busy time of year? How come the drones were airborne so long - far longer than the usual flight time for a cheap drone?
If they manage to capture just one drone, I'm guessing it'll be easily traced back to an owner (fingerprints, serial numbers) and they'll be in deep trouble.
 
The Dutch police use eagles. If you have to use birds of prey, do it in maximum style.

I'd imagine, given the limited bandwidth on the radio spectrum allocated to drone control, it would be easy enough to triangulate the location of any transmitters (i.e. controllers) within operating range. Jamming it likely isn't an option - far as I know, jamming any radio signals in the UK is illegal (don't know if law enforcement/armed forces are allowed to do it). The army (and, most likely, their anti-drone tools) are now on site.

This odd situation is also spawning a few online conspiracy theories. Was it set up to divert attention from the above-normal-level chaos in Parliament? Was it a protest about the recent arrest at Gatwick of far-right activist Jayda Fransen? Were they controlled by Russian agents disrupting a busy airport at a particularly busy time of year? How come the drones were airborne so long - far longer than the usual flight time for a cheap drone?
If they manage to capture just one drone, I'm guessing it'll be easily traced back to an owner (fingerprints, serial numbers) and they'll be in deep trouble.

Wouldn't the drone's rotor blades chop the poor bird's legs though?
 
India just made it illegal to fly drones without specific permission. Perhaps someone in the UK wants the same.
 
yep. something doesn't add up to me.. You've got drones that apparently they can't track even visually or who's flying them and seemingly with the battery power to fly for god knows how many hours - you've got something happening at Strasbourg Airport at the same time....... I don't think they've seen a drone since yesterday, but maybe they've had a tip off that something's been planned specifically against Gatwick.
 
What is most puzzling to me is that most drones have a battery life of half an hour tops. Yet this was going on all day.
It’s said they called in snipers but that’s one round delivered with extreme accuracy. A clay pigeon shooting club would have been a better call.

For the battery reason, I’m a bit suspicious about the whole thing. Where is the footage of this drone anyway?
 
Also. Can Air Traffic Control at Gatwick not track a drone?
After half an hour, it’ll need new batteries and will have to go back to the handler for a refresh. Currently, the Mavic tops the range of consumer drones with a range of 5 miles.
Fishy.
 
What is most puzzling to me is that most drones have a battery life of half an hour tops. Yet this was going on all day.
It’s said they called in snipers but that’s one round delivered with extreme accuracy. A clay pigeon shooting club would have been a better call.

For the battery reason, I’m a bit suspicious about the whole thing. Where is the footage of this drone anyway?


yeah, there's too many holes in the explanation for me.. just on a motive basis, if you were just an idiot doing it for a larf, then the entire s**tstorm generated would have stopped you by now surely? If you were an organised group with a political point, you'd be looking to get away by now after making it, without adding to the 10+ years in jail you're facing. If you're STILL doing it, then maybe you're not concerned about jail time because you don't intend to be alive to serve it.
 
India just made it illegal to fly drones without specific permission. Perhaps someone in the UK wants the same.
You mean, deliberately flying drones to provoke a legislative response from the government?
Possible.
 
Drone jamming technology does exist.
Also, some radars are available that can track drones and even objects the size of a golf ball.
Maybe Gatwick doesn't yet have this tech installed?
 
There is, of course, the possibility that there was one drone there for 5 minutes (or maybe no drone at all), and for hours afterwards every passing bird or plastic bag in the wind provoked shouts of "There it is again! Drone!". A little UFO flap for the drone age.
 
There is, of course, the possibility that there was one drone there for 5 minutes (or maybe no drone at all), and for hours afterwards every passing bird or plastic bag in the wind provoked shouts of "There it is again! Drone!". A little UFO flap for the drone age.
There are people on Twitter claiming that it is (was?) in fact an actual UFO flap, and the drone angle is just a cover story...
 
I'll tell you what I can:

It's an industrial drone, not one you can buy in the shops. Birds of prey, drone ramming etc will be ineffective.

You can't shoot something down if you can't see it - it hasn't been flying around for two days, it's popped up and disappeared again a few times.

You can't jam the signal if you don't know the make and model of the drone.
 
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