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Should I report? UK

Jupeuav

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First off, Im not 'the drone police' and in general don't mind what anyone does, so long as they follow the 'spirit' of the rules in the UK as outlined by the CAA. Im a PfCO pilot in Northern Ireland and I'm seeing more and more negligence with these little machines but this morning I've seen something that's just mental and Im seriously considering reporting it just for the mere safety implications it has.

The video's in question show a young lad in the Belfast (Newtownards) area filming near a small GA airfield very close to the approach path of landing aircraft. This was the first video I noticed. Looking further into it, he has also been filming cruise ships leaving Belfast Harbour (extremely far beyond V-LOS) and coming in pretty close to them (within the 50m rule of vessels not under PIC Control), and to top this off, where he has stated he took off from would be crossing directly through the approach/take-off path of commercial jetliners heading into/out of Belfast City Airport. The lad in question definitely does not have a PfCO (looking at the latest CAA publications)..not to mention he's trying to charge for aerial photography.

What do you think I should do? And how would I go about reporting if you think I should? Is it the police you contact or the CAA directly?

Like I said, I don't want to be 'that guy' or the drone police but what the guy is doing is just reckless.
 
If you know who he is maybe a friendly email or word before taking it to official channels. Its possible be may not be aware of the rules or at least all of them.

If her persists, especially with flying directly in approach paths and charging for services then assuming a friendly word doesn't suffice then yes id report him. If hes charging he's commercial and he's illegal competition for you.

Generally the local police would be the ones to contact, although the CAA controls the airspace the police have the power to caution, arrest and charge for breaches of the ANO.
 
If you know who he is maybe a friendly email or word before taking it to official channels. Its possible be may not be aware of the rules or at least all of them.

If her persists, especially with flying directly in approach paths and charging for services then assuming a friendly word doesn't suffice then yes id report him. If hes charging he's commercial and he's illegal competition for you.

Generally the local police would be the ones to contact, although the CAA controls the airspace the police have the power to caution, arrest and charge for breaches of the ANO.

I know his name via Facebook so I don't really 'know' him at all. He could take it as constructive criticism or he could be a total *** about it. Who knows.

Would it even be worth contacting the ATC at Belfast to inform them?
 
ATC cant do anything. Its not their problem plus they have no "evidence". Its a police matter.

Id try the personal approach first, he may be unaware, take it on the chin and adapt. If he does act like a complete d**k about it then id report him. If he completely ignores your message then id report him.

Try to be nice and if he doesn't respond in kind do the official thing. I guess you can send him a facebook (or youtube etc) private message.
Id send him a link to the CAA drone code and id also send him this:

http://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/NPCC FOI/Operations/175 15 NPCC Response Att 01 of 01 26102015.pdf

The above is very useful as its the official police guidance for dealing with drone offences. He can see in there clearly what he can do, cant do and what the police recommendations for action are. Its a very handy document for all UK based recreational drone operators.

In my view if he does know the laws and is choosing to break him id like the book thrown at him - its EXACTLY those actions causing more and more restrictions to be placed on drone operators. For some reason there seems to be a fairly arrogant attitude of "i bought it so ill use it how i **** well please" and its causing big problems.

Chances are the police first course of action will be to give him a friendly reminder and try to get him to stop. They're unlikely to do more than that for the first contact. They'll only go down the line of official cautions and charging if he persists.
 
ATC cant do anything. Its not their problem plus they have no "evidence". Its a police matter.

Id try the personal approach first, he may be unaware, take it on the chin and adapt. If he does act like a complete d**k about it then id report him. If he completely ignores your message then id report him.

Try to be nice and if he doesn't respond in kind do the official thing. I guess you can send him a facebook (or youtube etc) private message.
Id send him a link to the CAA drone code and id also send him this:

http://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/NPCC FOI/Operations/175 15 NPCC Response Att 01 of 01 26102015.pdf

The above is very useful as its the official police guidance for dealing with drone offences. He can see in there clearly what he can do, cant do and what the police recommendations for action are. Its a very handy document for all UK based recreational drone operators.

In my view if he does know the laws and is choosing to break him id like the book thrown at him - its EXACTLY those actions causing more and more restrictions to be placed on drone operators. For some reason there seems to be a fairly arrogant attitude of "i bought it so ill use it how i **** well please" and its causing big problems.

Chances are the police first course of action will be to give him a friendly reminder and try to get him to stop. They're unlikely to do more than that for the first contact. They'll only go down the line of official cautions and charging if he persists.

Fair enough, ill send him a message! Cheers for the link
 
The short answer is “Yes”, you most certainly should report what you know, both to the police and to ATC. Why? Well, for one thing that irresponsible behaviour helps get drone pilots a bad name and risks further legislation restricting their use. That spoils it for every sensible user.
My interest? I recently purchased a Mavic and enjoy getting to grips with it within the CAA drone code. I am also a retired Air Traffic Controller and know exactly the sort of chaos irresponsible flying can cause, whether with a drone or a real aircraft.
My 2 cents.
 
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where he has stated he took off from would be crossing directly through the approach/take-off path of commercial jetliners heading into/out of Belfast City Airport

I'd just report him - let the authorities deal with him. Anyone brainless enough to cross approach / take off paths isn't going to give a **** about freindly advice and needs to be stopped, fast..
 
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FWIW the official contact method for illegal or unsafe drone operation is to dial 101 (the non urgent police national number). Not the CAA or ATC. The police then check to see if there are breaches of the ANO or refer to the CAA if needed.
 
It's Northern Ireland police we're talking about here. Unless he's driving his Mavic with the tail-light out or no MOT they'll not be remotely interested.
 
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Generally the local police would be the ones to contact, although the CAA controls the airspace the police have the power to caution, arrest and charge for breaches of the ANO.

How can I say this? Well... ano in italian is anu$. Breaches of the anu$. OK you all got it, sorry
 
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