£3,000 fine & 6month suspended prison sentence given for illegal drone flying

[alan p]

Despite all the what if opinions that people are entitled to, he knew the rules and regs and ignored them , he was an idiot!!! There was a pilot in the aircraft and people close by, it's a shame about the suspended sentence should have been put inside to deter others.

See how much you duck when a stone hits your car windscreen, do that at 300ft and you are a hole in the ground.

[Learner]

2 hours ago, Andy Stephenson said:

KC,

 

it's a war-bird designed to be shot at.

I think a tank is designed to be shot at, a Hurricane certainly isn't 

[Andy Stephenson]

47 minutes ago, EvilC57 said:

I don't think that's the point. To quote the prosecution barrister, "It is the last Hurricane ever built and it is considered priceless.". And as she pointed out, there are only 12 airworthy Hurricanes left in the world.

 

So to risk losing the aircraft or even just getting it damaged in an avoidable accident would seem unconscionable.

That wasn't the point I was arguing.

[Cuban8]

4 hours ago, kc said:

Is there any mention of whether the drone pilot was registered or not?   Was it under 250 grams perhaps?  He seems to have been caught by his online videos and telemetry not by his registration.

 

  Does any of us really believe that a lightweight drone could really down a Hurricane - more likely damage the paintwork or chip the prop!     If it did hit the prop and even cause engine failure the pilots would surely have an engine out procedure and emergency landing area to avoid the crowd.     Exagerated worst case for effect and to get attention no doubt!    A large bird would do the same damage perhaps.........

Not getting into the whys and wherefores of the damage that might have occured and the potential outcome of same, but the fact that the individual was caught PDQ by the police finding his social media account and feeling his collar from that, only adds more weight to the pointlessness of registration. Certainly in the form it is now and how we've been roped in with the flying camera, get the shot at all costs, brigade.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Cuban8

[Graff]

On 02/03/2023 at 23:45, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

Didn't you tell us that "Unfortunately we can't get a NOTAM, as our model flying fields here in Sweden aren't on the AIP"?  Any safety notification system relies on knowledge sharing.

Yes, but they want us to look up everything or get the book threwn at us, but they find loopholes to suit them.

But we have fields which have over 120 meters flying height, and those are on the AIP, but there has still been incidents there as well. (That was relayed to me after my incident.)

[GrumpyGnome]

Even though a Hurricane is 'designed to be shot at', I'm pretty sure there are a number of scenarios that could bring it down..... jammed control surface, manages to penetrate the cockpit and hits pilot, breaks a control cable, jams undercarriage, jams an air intake etc. etc.

 

Irrespective if the likelihood, it's possible and that idiot completely ignored this just to get some good footage.  Low probability, very high impact makes it a risk that needs mitigating, or better still, removing.  Hopefully the police destroyed all his equipment.

[Cuban8]

These types of problems with non-aeromodellers flying camera drones will never go away and unfortunately, give it time,  we'll be here again at some point. People cherry pick the law depending on their position and motive, whether it's a huge corporate scandal or ignoring a bald tyre on their car. If the law itself was a fool proof way of preventing crime, the jails would be empty and the lawyers would be looking for other work. A flippant remark I grant you, but all the more reason to make the  laws and regulations that we have (as far as our issue with nuisance camera drones and model registration is concerned) useful, enforceable, effective and fair.

I submit (again, sorry!) that CAA registration by its very nature is none of these things.

BMFA have been excellent at moderating the bureaucrats' over zealousness, but I'd like to see all BMFA members exempt from the CAA registration process - why duplicate a method of traceability in that we already have unique membership numbers and of course are very well insured as well.

It's been a sensible thing to put your name and address or BMFA number on your models for years.

[Zflyer]

1 hour ago, GrumpyGnome said:

Even though a Hurricane is 'designed to be shot at', I'm pretty sure there are a number of scenarios that could bring it down..... jammed control surface, manages to penetrate the cockpit and hits pilot, breaks a control cable, jams undercarriage, jams an air intake etc. etc.

 

Irrespective if the likelihood, it's possible and that idiot completely ignored this just to get some good footage.  Low probability, very high impact makes it a risk that needs mitigating, or better still, removing.  Hopefully the police destroyed all his equipment.

Quite rightly the chap has been punished for his breach, however destroying all his equipment is a bit over the top. It would better if he was to learn the rules, fly by them and become an advocate for the hobby being able to relate his first hand experience.

[Denis Watkins]

43 minutes ago, Zflyer said:

Quite rightly the chap has been punished for his breach, however destroying all his equipment is a bit over the top. It would better if he was to learn the rules, fly by them and become an advocate for the hobby being able to relate his first hand experience.

 

The " equipment " thing is a contentious issue Zflyer, but stems from the Law, and both the Police and HM Customs can, and do destroy the container or device used in law breaking.

For example if you carry illegal items in your car, even Customs have a right to destroy it.

[Zflyer]

Yes confiscation of articles can be undertaken and frequently does as it forms part of assorted laws prescribed to law enforcing agencies. I have no quibbile with punishment given to the culprit. That said the curfew is certainly over the top. Very few models are flown during the dark and very rarely do curfews get imposed on burglars...

[Cuban8]

4 hours ago, Zflyer said:

Quite rightly the chap has been punished for his breach, however destroying all his equipment is a bit over the top. It would better if he was to learn the rules, fly by them and become an advocate for the hobby being able to relate his first hand experience.

Which hobby are we talking about? Aeromodelling or operating a device solely for acquiring images to stick up on YouTube?

I think the difference is important.

[paul devereux]

On 02/03/2023 at 21:55, Graff said:

And then we have the proud boys of the RAF who low flies their £40 million Typhoons over registered model airfields.

A place where there IS a very high probability that there's models in the air.

If they get a 20 kg airplane in the air intake, then it's good night.

Caller: there are fighter aircraft low flying over England! Can you stop them?

999 handler: Are they ours or enemy?

Caller: ours of course!

999 handler: thank God for that!

 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by paul devereux

[paul devereux]

These fliers enjoyed it:

 

[paul devereux]

And this is interesting:

 

[Peter Miller]

8 hours ago, paul devereux said:

These fliers enjoyed it:

 

Ho Hum!!!!

All the time round my home and the villages and our flying field (See above)

[paul devereux]

14 hours ago, Peter Miller said:

Ho Hum!!!!

All the time round my home and the villages and our flying field (See above)

Would you not think that fun, Peter? I would! I also love flying in helicopters (as a passenger, though I would love to be able to afford to learn to fly one- it's about £20k).

Edited March 11, 2023 by paul devereux

[GrumpyGnome]

I had a 'trial flight' in a heli a few years ago...... after my awful attempts at hovering, the pilot told me I had "....the touch of a rhino wearing boxing gloves".  My son, of course, was happily hovering quite accurately and moving around smoothly.......

[Peter Miller]

9 hours ago, paul devereux said:

Would you not think that fun, Peter? I would! I also love flying in helicopters (as a passenger, though I would love to be able to afford to learn to fly one- it's about £20k).

Look further back up this thread and  you will see that round here it is commonplace. As for leaping about and going into paroxysms of excitement, Well, hardly.

 

But then I suppose we see to many round here and personally I have been around and in too many great aircraft to get so excited about a commonplace one.

[cymaz]

The police should destroy the rouge pilot’s equipment. 

The cops would crush a car...

[Lima Hotel Foxtrot]

2 hours ago, Peter Miller said:

Look further back up this thread and  you will see that round here it is commonplace. As for leaping about and going into paroxysms of excitement, Well, hardly.

 

But then I suppose we see to many round here and personally I have been around and in too many great aircraft to get so excited about a commonplace one.

It must be nice to be so special, but that's no reason to dump all over what was clearly an exciting moment for a couple of average guys enjoying their hobby in a field. Most people here would be extremely pleased that this happened to them.

 

As for the subject of the thread: The pillock responsible has been caught and punished in a way commensurate with the public good. Destroying his gear isn't going to stop him buying more, and he has been roundly castigated on the dedicated FPV and MR forums. You never know, the fact that he was caught may even make some people think twice.

[kc]

Before you rush to advocate crushing gear that offends a no fly zone pause to think that if you are unaware that a no fly zone is suddenly invoked all YOUR  gear might be squashed! 

Nobody tells you that a no fly zone is imposed.  The BMFA don't seem to inform clubs affected.    My ( previous ) club was in the middle of flying on a Saturday morning session when a jet flew over the field behind us at very low altitude followed by a huge group of military aircraft and then the Red Arrows.   Obviously our flying stopped  and we all watched the display and it dawned on us that it was Trooping the Colour day.    Same a few years later at a different site - they just came from behind the trees.  None of us knew if a no fly zone was imposed!    And if you do know where to look it up then the times given are not those on your watches which may be on British Summer Time but actually GMT.    So it's very easy to offend accidentally.

 

We all might expect a similar display this year when the Coronation happens and also Trooping Colour .  No doubt my current club secretary will inform us in advance if there is a No Fly zone nearby for these (  we are relying on you Andy!)   but what if there is just a small local event with a flypast  - how do you know?  Does anyone ever check beforehand each day they fly?

 

 

 

 

[cymaz]

https://dronesafetymap.com/#loc=50.6032010,-4.6067599,11.352251810801748

 

https://notaminfo.com/node/5

 

In my favourites...

 

[kc]

Well it's interesting that the Drone Safety Map does not show anything along the main railway line from Colchester to Central London  ( A12 road) which is the route normally used by the Trooping Colour flypast etc  The Coronation is 2 months away!      Perhaps there is no flypast this year or they will go somewhere else.   

[Andy Gates]

4 hours ago, kc said:

No doubt my current club secretary will inform us in advance if there is a No Fly zone nearby for these (  we are relying on you Andy!)   but what if there is just a small local event with a flypast  - how do you know?

Cheers KC - no pressure then!

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

It is the pilot’s responsibility to ensure that the flight is legal. If the airspace has been closed then they alone are at risk of prosecution.  That’s the reason I subscribe to the CAA SkyWise notification system and I’d recommend others to do so too.