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UK Man Gets Britain's First-Ever Conviction For Illegal Drone Use

Posted by timothy on from the poke-poke-poke-poke-slap dept.

jfruh writes: Nigel Wilson of Nottingham was quite a drone enthusiast: he flew a drone over a Champions League soccer match low enough to startle police horses, and at other times flew drones over iPro Stadium in Derby, the Emirates Stadium in north London, and near the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the HMS Belfast and the Shard tower in London. He's been convicted under the Air Navigation Order 2009 and fined £1,800.

7 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Drones stories are second only to 3D printing stories on slashdot's "must feature no matter how dull" topic list. Now if you have a story about a 3D printed drone, well, just give it the whole front page.

  2. Drone enthusiast? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would think a real drone enthusiast would know enough to not do such stupid things with them. This is why we can't have nice drones.

  3. As a UAV flyer myself... by neilo_1701D · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... I say "good". The current laws are working: you do something stupid with your machine, you get hit with a fine. Leaving a trail of all your illegal stunts on YouTube is probably not the smartest thing to do, either.

    Just because you can fly one of these things doesn't mean it won't suddenly drop out of the sky. Over the weekend, I was practicing nose-in POI orbits in a big, empty field. The earlier flights were non-eventful; this one seemed no different until the battery cover popped off and a propeller hit it, with the machine dropping 20' into the ground. I believe I hadn't seated the battery connector correctly and it shifted during the flight, causing the cable to put pressure on the cover and it blew out. Fortunately, the only damage was a snapped blade, cracked landing gear and the camera was knocked off it's gimbal mounts. If I was being an idiot and flew over the crowds at Wimbledon (like this guy), it may not have had such a happy ending.

    The laws are working. Heavily fine a few more idiots and let the rest of us fly responsibly.

    1. Re:As a UAV flyer myself... by brambus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      100x this. As a pilot myself, we're acutely aware of things like temporary flight restrictions over crowded spaces (especially games) and restricted areas over places with special security requirements. Now I'm not a fan of overburdening regulation, but I fully support public education of all potential drone pilots that as soon as they put their craft over anybody's head, it's no longer just a toy. Maybe even require a license to fly a drone over/near populated areas.

    2. Re:As a UAV flyer myself... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It reads like a sensible ruling. A stiff fine but not excessively so, and no panic "terrorist" or similarly silly charges for flying near Buckingham Palace.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    3. Re:As a UAV flyer myself... by macaddict · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We wouldn't need overburdening regulation if these dumbasses would act like adults with more than two brain cells to rub together. This is why we can't have nice things.

      I'm also a (newbie) pilot. I wouldn't be opposed to having to pass a safety course and getting a license (similar to a driver's license) if it keeps (most) idiots from ruining the hobby for the rest of us. Or at least allows the same punishments that car drivers get for reckless driving, because the drone pilot can no longer use "I didn't know the rules" as an excuse.

  4. Re:Shite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why wouldn't Her Majesty's Ship Belfast make any sense? It's a ship that belongs to Her Majesty via the Royal Navy as all Navy ships do. It's named after the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom of which she is Queen.

    So what exactly is the problem?