Drones in civilian applications are risky - at least 49 near misses reported since April 2014

Drones are fine for military applications and have proved their usefulness in eliminating terrorists and their bases but, when it comes to applications in the civilian areas, there are dangers looming round every corner. Fears of collision between drones and planes are on the rise. As many as 49 proximity reports have been filed by pilots since April 2014 - these include 16 incidents where there was a serious risk of collision and 12 where the safety of the aircraft may have been compromised.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 23 May 2016.

Freedom of Information requests reveal that in the first four months of 2016, there were 15 reported near-misses - more than half of a total of 29 in the previous 12 months. In addition, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data has revealed 13 near-miss incidents reported by pilots - these are under investigation. Six of these were near London Heathrow and others at airports like Gatwick and Glasgow.
Certain rules have already been formulated - for instance drone users must be able to see the craft at all times and must not fly above 400ft (122m). Drones installed with cameras must not be flown within 50m (164ft) of people, vehicles or buildings, or over congested areas or large gatherings like concerts and sports events. Of course, high-end drones can fly up to and beyond 6,000ft, travel at speeds of up to 50mph and remain airborne for 25 minutes. (These can come for anything between £25 and £20,000 - as per reports, more than 15,000 such units have been sold in the UK last year.)


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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