Footage Reveals Drone Aircraft Nearly Downed Passenger Plane in 2004

Newly released footage, writes reader Wowsers, shows that in 2004 "A German drone aircraft was within meters of bringing down a passenger aircraft with 100 people on board. The link shows stills from onboard the drone. The incident had been hushed up for nine years, and is creating waves in Germany now the footage has been leaked out."

Comments

Who is in control?

[roman_mir]

So it's not like the drone is a robot that decides where and when to fly on its own, this is not hugely different from just 2 normal large passengers jets being directed at each other by ground control.

I only wonder if there is anything like ACAS / TCAS on the drone and is the drone allowed to maneuver away from collision on its own?

Re:Who is in control?

[sabri]

This was a small, 88lb (40kg) drone, not a Global Hawk. $2000 would be a significant chunk of its cost.

But a small cost considering the danger of airborne vehicles prone to turbulence. If a flock of geese can bring down an airliner, a human constructed chuck of metal can do the same. Geese don't have transponders, but we can include them in our devices. Your argument is flawed. Even if the cost of the transponder would double the cost of the drone, it would still be worth it, considering the potential loss of life (and the associated liability costs).

Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken, mode S transponders are mandatory in all EU airspace at this time, but I'm sure some AC will be able to comment on that. It's been a while since I've touched the controls of an aircraft in the USSEU.

"and is creating waves in Germany now the footage"

[Anonymous Coward]

I have searched for this in german web pages. Beside aero.de and spiegel.de there is next to NO german web pages mentionning this and a lot of english pages. In fact it isn't even on google news in german...

Small drone

[mseeger]

JYI: This was a small drone (40kg). It would have taken a very unlucky hit to take down the airpane.

I had a colleague who operated those things in Afghanistan, they were essentially a big RC plane.

Why do people online get so bent out of shape when

[interkin3tic]

people don't agree with their opinions on what is the "correct" way to do things?

Re:Why was this classified?

[grantspassalan]

It took nine years to leak this information. Government efforts to keep information secret was more successful in times past, Governments want to censor everything that is detrimental to them and their increasingly dictatorial rule over the common people. That censorship is getting harder as time goes by, because of the ubiquity of smart phones and other Internet connected camera devices. In earlier times, when the government caught someone with a camera that may have taken some pictures that they did not want to get out into the open, they simply took the film out. When cameras went digital they would often confiscate or destroy such cameras. Nowadays that Is no longer useful, because the digital information has escaped into cyberspace, from which it can't be recalled. That is one of the primary reasons why governments everywhere are desperately trying to control the Internet. They give excuses such as copyright and protecting the children, but those are just that, excuses.

Re:Why do people online get so bent out of shape w

[KGIII]

Did you ever witness the top-post vs. bottom-post Usenet battles? Those were fun. I'm a bottom poster though I snip. Well, no... I haven't engaged in Usenet activity in years.