Fright of the drones: A raising concern

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Fright of the drones: A raising concern

Once virtually unknown for civilian use, drones are taking to the sky in increasing numbers, outpacing regulation in many countries

by

Bernd Debusmann Jr.

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Published: Thu 29 Jan 2015, 9:40 AM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 11:35 PM

The issue of drone safety came into sharp focus on Friday in Dubai, when recreational drones forced the closure of Dubai airport for 55 minutes after they veered dangerously close to the flight path of commercial airliners. As a result, some aircraft had to be diverted to Al Maktoum Airport in Jebel Ali.

In another safety scare reported from the US on Monday, the White House in Washington DC temporarily went into lockdown and officials scrambled after a small, commercially-available ‘quadcopter’ drone crashed on the southeast side of America’s executive mansion.

The potential for drone crashes is statistically high. Government statistics compiled by the Washington Post in 2014 found that over 400 of the US government’s high-tech, professionally-operated drones worth millions of dollars crashed around the world between 2001 and 2013.

Near misses between civil drones and aircraft have been reported around the world, including New York City’s Laguardia Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport, where in July a small drone came within six metres of an Airbus A320 passenger airplane that was coming in to land.

Civilian drones today come in a variety of shapes, sizes, sophistication and purposes ranging from hobby flying to providing municipal services.

In Dubai alone, drones have been used for aerial photography, to help detect labour violations at construction sites, deliver official documents and help authorities keep watch over the Dubai Creek.

But the vast number of recreational drones, flown by untrained and unregistered operators, are causing fears that one might eventually cause a serious incident, and governments worldwide are now scrambling to regulate their usage.

Concerns have also been raised that drones — most of which can be fitted with cameras — might violate the privacy of local residents.

Videos uploaded to YouTube show drones flying over crowded areas of the city, including Dubai Marina and Al Garhoud, not far from the Dubai airport. In one video, a drone strikes the window of a skyscraper near the Dubai Fountain, causing it to flounder and rapidly lose altitude before recovering.

In another, a small drone is caught in heavy winds and comes to a sudden stop on the balcony of a family home in a residential area.

 Serious risk

Michael Rudolph, head of Aviation Regulations and Safety for the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), explained that even small drones pose a serious risk to pilots and passengers of passenger aircraft.

“Depending on payload, they might cause serious damage, the bigger and heavier they are,” he said. “The smaller ones, such as those you can find in Dragon Mart (in Dubai), might not cause a tremendous amount of damage ingested in an engine, but can easily penetrate through the cabin glass into the cockpit.”

 Regulations

In the US, no approval is currently needed before operating a recreational drone, but the Federal Aviation Administration rules published in 2012 forbid hobbyists from flying within 8km of an airport without notifying the control tower, as well as mandating that operators stay within visual line-of-sight of their aircraft and below 122m.

Similar rules are in place in the UK, and include provisions banning the use of a drone within 50m of people, vehicles and buildings, and within 150m of congested areas or large gatherings of people.

In Europe, the European Aviation Safety Agency is working on a set of tough new rules regulating drone use, which will provide an equivalent level of safety regulations to those governing manned aircraft.

On Saturday, Mohammed Abdullah Ahli, Director-General of the DCAA, said UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are strictly prohibited in Dubai air space without a prior permit from the DCAA and warned of potential legal consequences.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority is expected to announce new rules and guidelines regarding the use of drones in the coming days.

Currently, commercial drone operations in Dubai, such as those conducted by professional aerial photography companies, must apply to the Film Commission in Studio City, which liaises with the Dubai Police, the Ministry of Defence and the owners of the property over which the drones would be flown. Once these approvals are given, operators can apply to the DCAA to film in a specific area, at a specific time and must be accompanied by an Ministry of Defence officer during the flight time to ensure that no footage of sensitive areas has been taken, and all the footage must be sent to the ministry.

“We have been a little behind the curve,” Michael Rudolph said. “Hobbyists have little guidance, if any, and that’s why we want to issue some guidance on where they can fly their drones. Airports are really, really a no-go.”

 People-speak

Local drone enthusiasts — such as Dubai resident Ryan Copeland — said they would be more than willing to comply with any regulations put in place by the authorities. “Safety is something most of us care deeply about,” he said. “We don’t want to lose our expensive aircraft for sure and we certainly don’t want to hurt anybody or cause damage.

“Most ... drone pilots are pretty aware that regulation will be needed at some point and will be happy to comply for the greater good.”

Copeland said most amateur drone operators in Dubai behave responsibly and operate their drones “with common sense”. “The rule of thumb for most hobbyists is to stay under the radar by not putting ourselves into unsafe situations in the first place and flying in a way that doesn’t annoy people.

“I — and all the other drone pilots I know — think that whoever flew near the airport was unacceptably extremely reckless,” he said. “We’re concerned on it reflecting badly on our hobby, be it in the form of negative public sentiments or overly strict regulation.”

With regards to privacy concerns, Copeland said he takes the issue into consideration when operating his drone. “I take people’s personal privacy very seriously. Most of us with drones just want great scenic shots of the UAE’s uniquely beautiful landscape or to capture private events.”

 Easy availability

As of 2013, an estimated one million recreational and commercial drones had been sold worldwide, and industry analysts expect sales in 2014 to be even higher.

In Dubai, recreational unmanned vehicles are widely available in electronics stores, ranging from small, short-range miniature variants that cost several hundred dirhams, to larger, more sophisticated and expensive models which can cost upwards of Dh16,000 and have the capability to fly higher, remain airborne longer and take professional HD-quality video.

There is currently no estimate of the total number of drones that have been sold in the UAE. A spokesman for one of the largest hobby shops in the Dubai, Ultimate Hobby in Al Garhoud, estimated that they sell two to three drones a week, and that in the past years they’ve sold even more.

For safety and security purposes, customers must register the serial number of their drone with the store when they make a purchase so that the authorities can be made aware should the need arise.

John Falchetto — a qualified commercial pilot and flight instructor whose Dubai-based business, Quest Films, specialises in drone-based aerial photography — called for mandatory testing for all drone operators.

“At a minimum, people operating drones should take a theory exam to understand air laws and airspace and demonstrate that they can safely operate their drone,” he said. “The main issue here are not the commercial operators who run their drone as a business, but rather the amateurs who can buy a drone for just a few thousand dirhams and create havoc in Dubai airspace.

“Flying a drone should be regulated just like driving a car. The potential of a 3kg drone falling out of the sky and through the windshield of a car on Shaikh Zayed Road could be devastating.”

bernd@khaleejtimes.com


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