Gatwick Airport (UK) suspends flights due to Drone activity

[dirkclod]

OK guys OT for 1 post'
There are 2 long threads on this which I had 5 reports from the other .
For Political and just editing out langage .
Just read all of this one and is a good thread and I Thank-You .
Posters that deleted your post thank-you also as it kept me from having to do it.
I hate this as much as anyone and we will see were it goes but please continue
being civil .
Thanks
Now back on topic .

 

[Keule]

In totally coincidental news, DJI has announced a firmware update for the Matrice TB50 & TB55 batteries today.

Not quite correct - the firmware update was announced earlier:

Excerpt of an e-mail from DJI regarding the TB50/TB55 batteries:

On 19 December 2018, DJI released new firmware updates which serve to address a small number of reports of Matrice 200 Series drone users...

 

[Ed_2020]

Yesterday my nephew was at my place....I shown him my Mavic Pro.
He was interested of course etc etc.
Also yesterday morning I cancelled an insurance I took up last week with FlyIcarus.. 14 day cooling off period gave me that option so refund is on its way.
I don't do any social media apart from watts app and this forum.

Last night my nephew received a post on Facebook....he was in work...works for the Immigration Dept.

He didn't Google or search for anything on his phone in relation to anything to do with a drone.
This is what he received..
Very strange.View attachment 56381

Everything is interconnected these days. Maybe some Whatsapp message? Or they just saw him on your contact list, plus his GPS close to yours.

Companies read even your private messages on Facebook, apps ask (and usually get from the user) to use your phone camera, mike, etc.

The scale of location tracking by our smartphone apps has been exposed

 

[ataraxia]

I reckon several Gatwick residents are carrying out a sustained operation to disrupt air traffic in protest against air traffic and noise. Just a guess, anybody wanna wager?

 

[Harrissment]

I really think it’s still strange they have not shown one solid bit of proof being a picture or clip of a drone or a craft flying!

What’s going on I need proof it is what they are saying!

 

[pross]

What’s going on I need proof it is what they are saying!

I dont think there will be any, whoever it was is long gone and I think Gatwick are just holding out for the powers that be to intervene and pay the damages.

 

[FoxhallGH]

I really think it’s still strange they have not shown one solid bit of proof being a picture or clip of a drone or a craft flying!

What’s going on I need proof it is what they are saying!

Hey - it's there if you want to look ... There was video release of a drone flying over the Gatwick terminal today ... looked to be about 40 - 50 metres up and could just make out that it had 4 arms.
Loads of press now being put out by all the major agencies ...
WATCH Alleged First VIDEO of Drone Flying Above Gatwick Airport

 

[ataraxia]

I really think it’s still strange they have not shown one solid bit of proof being a picture or clip of a drone or a craft flying!

What’s going on I need proof it is what they are saying!

There is further footage on this page - Gatwick Airport chaos: Police send in SNIPERS to shoot down drone | Daily Mail Online

I dont think there will be any, whoever it was is long gone and I think Gatwick are just holding out for the powers that be to intervene and pay the damages.

They're not long gone, there's been another sighting in the last hour.

 

[ABLomas]

I really think it’s still strange they have not shown one solid bit of proof being a picture or clip of a drone or a craft flying!

Not sure if this is reliable source, but they have few videos (more than just that twitter post):
Gatwick Airport chaos: Police send in SNIPERS to shoot down drone | Daily Mail Online
But i'm not sure if this is the same airport, so far (no distinctive marks, video could be done anywhere), so....

Also, so many ppl with long telephoto lens (could tell looking into photos with waiting ppl) and zero good quality shots. Maybe at daytime nobody was aware?

 

[zocalo]

Hey - it's there if you want to look ... There was video release of a drone flying over the Gatwick terminal today ... looked to be about 40 - 50 metres up and could just make out that it had 4 arms.
Loads of press now being put out by all the major agencies ...
WATCH Alleged First VIDEO of Drone Flying Above Gatwick Airport

Definitely a quad in the video, in a similar design to a Mavic I think (not that DJI is the only vendor with that style), so either earlier reports of an "industrial drone" were mistaken or we now have copy cats. I hope it's the former, because the latter would make it easier for some of those responsible to get away with it.

With a little luck is *is* a DJI though, because surely by now they've got AeroScope deployed to help track down the perpetrator(s) and that should help at least a little. Doesn't seem to be the case though as Sussex police are saying they don't know the make/model yet, but do have some lines of inquiry and persons of interest.

 

[Heidelburger]

My thoughts at the moment are this is clearly a planned and co-ordinated incident rather than previous cases where it's a hobbyist being dumb. One thing that we could offer is to fly one of our drones up there and either follow them home or take them down. Somebody has already contacted Sussex police on Twitter and offered their racing drone to outmaneuver and take out the offenders.

Been out most of today and can't believe this is still going on.
Racing drone to catch it - Good idea
Loads of companies with tracking and blocking devices in development - Get down to Gatwick now and show how good your products are. First to find and stop the culprit, wins the contract. - Good idea.
UK Police and military waving their arms in the air trying to catch it - Most likely method to be deployed atm!

 

[sad_vampire]

Heavy rain at Gatwick for the next six hours so I can't see these drones being up/police getting out of their cars/etc.

There have been some complaints from the public on the flight paths, but they are in the villages to the west of Gatwick, planes taking off into the prevailing wind from the west
(Gatwick airfield runs east/west). This is the area where the main concern has been the recent series of small earthquakes, not the noise from Gatwick.

All take off & landing of aircraft at such airports is filmed in case of accidents, so where is the drone on these recordings?

 

[Flynz]

Shooting them down might be difficult but would it be possible to use some electronic means to jam the signal? As all legitimate planes seem to have been grounded that would cause a risk to them.

The problem with shooting them is that most rounds travel a long way especially when aiming above the horizon. Too much risk. A shotgun would work but you need to get very close.

 

[Flynz]

Don't the police have their own drones? The number one priority at the moment should be to get the **** things out of the sky. I'd presume they're not DJI drones, they've been there for a very long time now, they've either got amazing batteries or a load of spares, they must run out at some point surely?

Some English police units have drones for crowds

 

[Flynz]

Here’s the thing. Police and military have not been able to stop the drones or catch the pilots for hours. What if the next time there was a terror payload. Or what if this was a military base? This episode has demonstrated a huge vulnerability! Bad for us well meaning drone pilots with our Mavics.

 

[Bazzam]

Some of the media reaction :
'Drone maniac': what the papers say about the Gatwick airport chaos

Newspapers blame ‘lone-wolf’ and eco-warriors for Christmas holiday travel nightmare

'Drone maniac': what the papers say about the Gatwick airport chaos

 

[dewster]

Man..this is really big news. I bet it was DJI’s...Phantom.

 

[gnirtS]

Looks like Aeroscope has been deployed. That said if these aren't DJI drones then its not a lot of use. Although a simple DF setup should do a similar job for any sort of 2 way link and i find it hard to believe the police dont have access to that.

This looks like a clear, deliberate attempt to disrupt air traffic, possible some of the mentalist tree huggers who have been closing london and places recently.
It also sends a clear message - for a few hundred pounds you can close airports for days and the authorities have no effective response at all. So standby for copycat actions.

 

[Lady Rover]

Just wondering, if the flight path has been pre-programmed and the aim is to cause distraction, the "pilots" need no ground communication at all, no?

Fully auto. Ground sensors would not give pilot location.

Not sure about GPS. But if they program a flight path based on terrain compass and speed, the could probably even operate when GPS is blocked close by. Then get out of this zone.

All based on the assumption that it is a custom bird.

 

[ABHIII]

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BBC analysis on how much damaged a Drone can cause to a airplane.