And nor was there proof that there were not drones involved in the LGW incident. But, in any case, consider the logical conclusion of your argument - that they should not take any precautions unless the existence of the danger can be proved, which is a high bar. A pilot sighting of a hazard is never ignored, even though some may be mistaken.
Can you even begin to imagine the consequences if a collision occurred after a drone sighting was called in and the report ignored due to "lack of proof"?
I'm not quite sure how you prove something like that didn't happen (?)
You normally need to provide evidence that a crime did happen - innocent till proven guilty etc.
I have read every available report that I can find & in my humble opinion, the most believable explanation for the sightings was a helicopter hovering around the perimeter of the airport & its lights were confused with those of a drone. Apparently the weather was quite poor, so it was difficult to make it out properly. On this note, the weather (rain) would have precluded many consumer drones from even flying & also, their lights are quite small.
A professional photographer who was an experienced drone flyer was convinced he'd got a photograph of one of the offending drones, but just before reporting it, he zoomed in on his laptop to check the image & realised the red & green lights were a helicopter in the distance.
I believe that a couple were arrested for the drone flights, but it turned out the man was just an r/c model hobbyist who had a model helicopter & was unfortunate enough to live near the airport. Some neighbours decided that because of this, it must have been him. Unless I'm mistaken he was released without charge & ended up getting £200k for wrongful arrest!
I'm not accusing the airport of over reacting & yes, in their position I probably would have done the same, but if we are focusing on the subject of proof - again, where is the proof that there actually were any drones?
We'll never know what it was (if it was?), but DJI are the market leader of drone sales in the UK by a big margin & getting one of their drones airborne in a geofenced area isn't easy!
The only confirmed drone flights were of the police drone that was up looking for the offending drones. Many people also made reports after seeing this one too.
Multiple sightings by multiple people in a busy airport, yet not one photograph? How many people would have had a camera with them for holiday snaps, not to mention cell phones.
Whatever the truth is, my comments were not meant to be taken as a criticism of LGW, but more a dig at the tabloid press who sensationalise anything to the detriment of anybody.
They don't seem to be bothered about professional reporting of the truth, they just ptint anything at all if it'll increase their sales. Their articles instantly blamed drones without a shred of proof.
We are fighting against some very strange & frustrating legislation aimed at our hobby at the moment & I'm sure the vast majority of drone pilots are doing their utmost to present a law abiding & safety conscious face to the public & various authorities.
Drones seem to be the "bad guy" in the eyes of the public & reports like that are very harmful.
As I said, just my opinions & not meant to incur anyone's wrath
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