Can a UAV bring down a plane?

[Classic flyer]

There was no drones involved though. The heli pilots blamed it on a Phantom because they're awful at their job.

Sure that's what happened.....jezzzzz

 

[Callum]

I will just leave this here.... .

The biggest threat to manned aviation is.......Manned Aviation.

First time I've seen that. Amazed the pilots in stationary one managed to walk away.

 

[MiniPalourde]

Sure that's what happened.....jezzzzz

Either way, the pilots are bad at their job. You're not supposed to crash your helicopter when you see a 1 KG drone...

 

[Classic flyer]

A drone would be smashed to smithereens if hits a plane, soft plastic shreds when hit by something solid travelling at 150 mph plus.

There was a video where a drone hits a windscreen of aircraft and the drones turns to a million pieces.

Same goes for the engine, it would shred and be spat out the other side.

What about the metal motors and the heavy battery?

 

[Classic flyer]

Either way, the pilots are bad at their job. You're not supposed to crash your helicopter when you see a 1 KG drone...

When you take evasive actions to avoid getting whacked and something happens dosent make you a bad pilot

 

[MiniPalourde]

When you take evasive actions to avoid getting whacked and something happens dosent make you a bad pilot

You're supposed to stay calm. Can you at least admit that this particular time, they did a really bad job at piloting their helicopter? In my book, if you crash your helicopter you probably did a bad job.

 

[sar104]

IMHO is no proper answer to this question. The only reliable answer can be :

Dépend on the size of the Drone + the size of the plane + the circumstances.

But that is really just avoiding the issue. The question "can a drone bring down an aircraft" is not asking whether all drones can bring down all aircraft in all circumstances (obviously not). It's clearly just asking the simple question of whether there is a risk of a consumer drone such as a Mavic, Phantom, Inspire etc. bringing down an aircraft. And even though, as demonstrated amply in this thread, one can posit all kinds of situations where it won't, the answer is that given the right aircraft and situation it can, and so the answer is yes.

Clearly the risk goes up for smaller, less robust, general aviation aircraft and helicopters and is exacerbated further by the fact that they are also the most likely to be encountered at low altitude away from the more easily avoided approach and departure lanes of large airports, but even large commercial jets and military aircraft still have some vulnerability.

 

[ascension]

A drone would be smashed to smithereens if hits a plane, soft plastic shreds when hit by something solid travelling at 150 mph plus.

There was a video where a drone hits a windscreen of aircraft and the drones turns to a million pieces.

Same goes for the engine, it would shred and be spat out the other side.

Really?
I've seen significant FOD damage cause by things with less mass than a drone.
Jet engines are not blenders.

I'm not saying ingesting a drone into a high bypass turbofan would lead to catastrophic failure, but it certainly would cause damage, and that damage would be extremely expensive.

 

[787steve]

It might have been the department of transport study in UK.

Drones and manned aircraft collisions: test results - GOV.UK

Widely regarded as flawed due to the fact they did not actually fire a drone, just a mixture of dense parts.


CAA also looked at the risks and as far as ingestion is concerned concluded.

Engine(s)
3.15 The central question is whether a collision with a small drone could cause a loss of
thrust to a manned aircraft. This can be divided into two distinct categories:
 jet engine powered aircraft, where the risk would relate to the drone being
ingested into the engine compressor or turbine, and
 aircraft where the thrust is provided by propeller. These have a lower risk of
engine failure due to the inherent properties of the propeller/engine design and
engine installation. However, the propeller itself is a key risk area, because any
damage may cause partial or complete loss of thrust and, more significantly, out
of balance forces may cause further damage to the whole engine installation.
3.16 In terms of the risk to a large aircraft, the fact that a jet engine has been damaged
may not cause an immediate risk to crew or passengers, even if the engine has
failed. This is because they typically have multiple engines and are certified for
continued safe flight and landing in the event of loss of one engine’s thrust.
17

3.17 Further, the expert opinion of a leading jet turbine engine manufacturer is that the
current suite of certification requirements for aero-engines provides a very significant
degree of protection for any structural integrity issues that might be posed by
potential drone ingestion. With the possible exception of any particularly dense items
that the drone might be carrying, which as identified earlier can vary considerably,
the manufacturer believes it is unlikely that small drone ingestion would significantly
affect the ability of the engine to produce thrust. The manufacturer also views it as
extremely unlikely that drone ingestion would compromise the ability of the engine to
be shut down safely.
3.18 Some subject experts have suggested that there may be a secondary risk to engines:
the risk of fire caused by the combustion of lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries, used in
most smaller drones. This concern cannot be quantified: the CAA has found no open-
source testing that helps ascertain the likelihood of this scenario. More information
on this outcome would need to come from research commissioned from the major
aircraft and engine certification authorities.



You can read the full report here
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...FjAAegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw1u9gDqghxx5OPeZEWIUK3R

All modern multi engine passenger aircraft are certified to be flyable with an engine failure. But that doesn't take into account the performance of the crew. There have been multiple crashes caused because the crew failed to keep control after a single engine failure. These are usually classified as caused by mechanical AND pilot error.

 

[787steve]

A drone would be smashed to smithereens if hits a plane, soft plastic shreds when hit by something solid travelling at 150 mph plus.

There was a video where a drone hits a windscreen of aircraft and the drones turns to a million pieces.

Same goes for the engine, it would shred and be spat out the other side.

You are exactly right. "It would be shred and spat out the other side." But in many cases the engine would fail as well. Did you not see the bird killing an F-16 video? Yes, the bird was toast, but then so was the F-16. And birds are primarily soft tissue and hollow bones. Every commercial and military pilot knows that birds can and have caused engine failures.

 

[Robin]

Awsome video

That video is a fake

 

[Robin]

This one is real.

China is the first country to crash test a drone vs jet windscreen. • r/gifs

 

[Classic flyer]

You're supposed to stay calm. Can you at least admit that this particular time, they did a really bad job at piloting their helicopter? In my book, if you crash your helicopter you probably did a bad job.

I didn't see anything in the article that indicated he PANICKED

 

[sar104]

I didn't see anything in the article that indicated he PANICKED

Agreed. Although one could certainly argue that any evasive maneuver to avoid a small nearby UAV that results in a more damaging impact with vegetation suggests that something led to a poor choice on the part of the pilot.

 

[Classic flyer]

Agreed. Although one could certainly argue that any evasive maneuver to avoid a small nearby UAV that results in a more damaging impact with vegetation suggests that something led to a poor choice on the part of the pilot.

The pilot was a CFI and I'm sure in his years of teaching student pilots he has experienced a lot of crazy situations so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt

 

[radial]

Awsome video

Awesome? Awesomely misleading, maybe.

FACT CHECK: Drone Strike

 

[Classic flyer]

Awesome? Awesomely misleading, maybe.

FACT CHECK: Drone Strike

True that sir but it does drive home the point...just my opinion thanx

 

[sar104]

The pilot was a CFI and I'm sure in his years of teaching student pilots he has experienced a lot of crazy situations so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt

Agreed, but I wonder if it was a mistake by the student that the instructor did not have time to recover from.

 

[Classic flyer]

Agreed, but I wonder if it was a mistake by the student that the instructor did not have time to recover from.

Again the article states that upon seeing the drone the instructor took control and evasive action

 

[jetpilot]

Just a curious question, as I live directly over a flight path but very far from an airport.

How much damage can drones cause planes?

At what stage can plane pilots see the drone?

Do they have any special sensors for detecting birds or drones?

The results could be catastrophic so please do not put this theory to the test. Just a discussion for people to spread their knowledge on this subject.

Just a curious question, as I live directly over a flight path but very far from an airport.

How much damage can drones cause planes?

At what stage can plane pilots see the drone?

Do they have any special sensors for detecting birds or drones?

The results could be catastrophic so please do not put this theory to the test. Just a discussion for people to spread their knowledge on this subject.

As a 25000 hour retired Captain I can tell you for sure the answer is yes. It is not just the speed of the aircraft that amplify impact, but also the speed of the fan and turbine blades in the jet engine. The slightest imbalance caused by injestion of a foreign object can throw engine parts into the fuselage at the speed of a bullet. Pilots cannot maintain a constant visual watch outside the aircraft because we fly instrument approaches even on a clear day. At best we glance outside, depending on ground controllers to give us a heads up on traffic. A drone will not show up on the controllers scope unless it has a transponder, which would cost a lot more than the drone. Birds have been a danger to aircraft since Kittyhawk. It is not unusual for approach controllers to change the arrival patterns based on known bird activity. Operate the drones by the rules and there should not be a conflict. Failing to do that could kill.