UK prosecution of drone pilot

[maelstrom]

This article is from the Daily Telegraph in the UK today:

A Derbyshire man has pleaded guilty to “endangering aircraft” after flying his drone “dangerously close” to a Second World War plane last year, in what is believed to be one of the first cases of its kind in the UK.
The man, from Buxton, pleaded guilty to the charge before magistrates in Chesterfield yesterday, after the incident during a Battle of Britain memorial flypast in front of 20,000 people at the Buxton Carnival last July.
He was said to have nearly caused a “serious accident” after images emerged of the craft flying close to the wing of the Hawker Hurricane fighter, part of the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The flypast had been protected by short-term airspace restrictions at the time, meaning no aircraft, including drones, could be flown in the area.
After identifying him as the drone operator, police arrested and charged the 49-year-old with endangering an aircraft and operating out of the visual line of sight, to which he also pleaded guilty. He will appear again for sentencing next month.
Derbyshire Constabulary described the man’s actions as “illegal and totally unacceptable” and said it believed the case to be “one of the first of its kind” in the country.
The flight safety manager for the Derbyshire Constabulary drone team, said: “Anyone using a drone must follow the rules to make sure they fly safely. As a police drone unit we know the benefits drones can bring to society but people using a drone in this way not only threaten the safety of aircraft and the public, they also damage the future use of drones.”

 

[Dumeinao]

How slow was that Hurricane flying? I'd think about 150 knots?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Eek, hoisted by his own petard drone. If done deliberately it was rather daft to be flying near an air display.

 

[Dumeinao]

Eek, hoisted by his own petard drone. If done deliberately it was rather daft to be flying near an air display.

Oh absolutely. What I was wondering about from a technical angle is just how fast was the Hurricane or the drone flying to be able to pull off the maneuver. Its like when you see an F-35 or F-22 flying with a Mustang.

 

[maelstrom]

Oh absolutely. What I was wondering about from a technical angle is just how fast was the Hurricane or the drone flying to be able to pull off the maneuver. Its like when you see an F-35 or F-22 flying with a Mustang.

The picture could simply have shown the drone near the wing of the Hurricane as it was passed by it. There was nothing to suggest that it was flying in formation with it.

 

[Dumeinao]

The picture could simply have shown the drone near the wing of the Hurricane as it was passed by it. There was nothing to suggest that it was flying in formation with it.

Oh, ok that's different then. If it was a crossing path collision course that would be doable easily. Pretty stupid either way on his part.

 

[old man mavic]

the biggest problem was the fact that he was flying in a TFR zone ,which would have been put in place for the duration of the event ,so its obvious he didnt check for any NOTAMS, before he flew ,just another example of stupidity or ignorance by a drone pilot, that reflects on the rest of us in a negative way

 

[Felix le Chat]

the biggest problem was the fact that he was flying in a TFR zone ,which would have been put in place for the duration of the event ,so its obvious he didnt check for any NOTAMS, before he flew ,just another example of stupidity or ignorance by a drone pilot, that reflects on the rest of us in a negative way

Agree. This is the kind of half-wit who will lumber all of us with even more restrictions because the responsible fliers will be tarred with the same brush by default. Simple one-click check with exactly the same smart device he used as his flight screen. Even the DJI app itself shows temporary restrictions clearly that have been put in place as a result of duly registered NATS NOTAM's that automatically cripple a DJI bird... unless he was flying an Autel

 

[Stitch-Up]

Unfortunately, I've not seen the video posted - Derbyshire man has pleaded guilty to “endangering aircraft”

Is there a link to the video in question?

Cheers

John

 

[twickers14]

I saw that yesterday and thanks for posting-I wasn’t quite sure how to lift it from the Daily Telegraph into the Forum. The bloke is mad and deserves all he gets at sentencing.

 

[spsphotos]

We need more convictions like this to make people take flying seriously.

 

[Bob Bartlett]

There are enough rules & regulations now we don't need idiots like this in the Drone Pilot system !

 

[Ralph thompson]

In my opinion it is simply ignorant & agree he should be heavily fined & imprisoned. If he had a license it should be cancelled. Ignored NOTAM (or didn’t even see it), BVLOS, he didn’t know if he was flying over people etc. Did he know if other aircraft were flying close by for say media coverage, or what the intent of the pilots might be ( eg a breakaway). Unfortunately it’s these stupid people that justify much tighter restrictions & obstacles for more cautious operators.

 

[GFields]

I see an example coming! It is hard to feel sorry for someone so stupid. At his age, he certainly should know better.

 

[lookout]

Agree. This is the kind of half-wit who will lumber all of us with even more restrictions because the responsible fliers will be tarred with the same brush by default. Simple one-click check with exactly the same smart device he used as his flight screen. Even the DJI app itself shows temporary restrictions clearly that have been put in place as a result of duly registered NATS NOTAM's that automatically cripple a DJI bird... unless he was flying an Autel

I turned on dji app during a tfr, it didn't show anything. Maybe I needed to turn on bird too for it to do something?

 

[123taff]

As far as I can establish, the idiot posted a video on line of his flight and someone complained to Derbyshire Police, and that was how they traced him. The video then formed part of the prosecution evidence and would have been taken down.

 

[Stitch-Up]

I bet he regrets his poor decisions!!!

 

[JamesJB]

That sucks
People like this ruin it for everyone else.
I think this is one of the reasons we have Remote ID.
Plus I think this is one of the reasons why we have so many Rules and Regulations In the U.S and I think U.K too,i'm not from the U.K. so I am not 100% sure how things work over there.

People I have heard flown there drones at the White House in their Airspace,flown near air planes at a Airport and in airport air space. I think I heard once I could be wrong that someone flew there drone near a aircraft and it got sucked in to the engine,thank god it was on the ground.

I wish people wouldn't do stupid things with their drone,it just ruins it for others that are law abiding

I pray that someday they don't make ya take actual flying lessons and stuff like a Pilot does to get there Pilot License,before your aloud to even fly your drone.

 

[lookout]

That sucks
People like this ruin it for everyone else.
I think this is one of the reasons we have Remote ID.
Plus I think this is one of the reasons why we have so many Rules and Regulations In the U.S and I think U.K too,i'm not from the U.K. so I am not 100% sure how things work over there.

People I have heard flown there drones at the White House in their Airspace,flown near air planes at a Airport and in airport air space. I think I heard once I could be wrong that someone flew there drone near a aircraft and it got sucked in to the engine,thank god it was on the ground.

I wish people wouldn't do stupid things with their drone,it just ruins it for others that are law abiding

I pray that someday they don't make ya take actual flying lessons and stuff like a Pilot does to get there Pilot License,before your aloud to even fly your drone.

Actions have consequences and while it should address the person at fault, newton's third law of motion clearly states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction from congress.

 

[MickeyMoo]

Question: How many folk really know what the rules are? This guy might not even know what he was doing was wrong. Let's face it. Everyone can buy a drone from Amazon, Argos etc.. no questions. Next thing they are having the most fun ever. Flying like a bird without a care.