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

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.

49 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

    I really wonder how it can be News that a criminal gets fined.

    It is not only common sense that he may not fly drowns over other peoples private property, but it is explicitely forbidden!

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    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. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Barny · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT?

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    3. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by ze_jua · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT, and has also iPhone connectivity with an app ?

    4. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Barny · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks cars!

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    5. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      You evidently missed the "first-ever" in the title.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    6. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Sarten-X · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks Tesla cars!

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    7. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by N1AK · · Score: 1

      I really wonder how it can be News that a criminal gets fined.

      Given all the stories about drone misuse (real or theoretical) it certainly hits my news threshold that someone has actually been prosecuted and given a decent sized fine.

    8. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by fisted · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks Tesla cars and relies on a webscale database, built by the Maker Community!

    9. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Nchantim · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks Tesla cars!

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks Tesla cars and then holds the car hostage until a ransom is paid in bitcoins and, using Stringray, sends the car's phone metadata to the NSA?

    10. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by Jawnn · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks cars!

      ...and mines Bitcoin, FTW.

    11. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by TWX · · Score: 1

      A 3D printed drone that connects to the IoT and has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks cars!

      Well, the IoT thing and the iPhone thing are redundant, but if the only way to hack a car was to keep up with it on the road and to establish a direct point to point connection to it, this would probably be the solution to make that happen.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    12. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by cjb658 · · Score: 1

      We just keep droning on and on about it.

    13. Re:Well, news? Yes, but for Nerds? by tigersha · · Score: 1

      A nuclear armed 3D printed drone with Anthrax spore coated plutonium blades that connects to the IoT, has iPhone connectivity with an app that hacks Tesla cars and then holds the car hostage until a ransom is paid in bitcoins and, using Stringray, sends the car's phone metadata to the NSA

      In that case ./ will go gaga about the involvement of the NSA and forget the rest.

      --
      The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  2. This cannot happen in Scotland! by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 1

    Drones are used since probably more than 2,000 years without having to apply for a permit.

    1. Re:This cannot happen in Scotland! by Flavianoep · · Score: 1

      That's because Scottish drones do sound better and don't spy over people!

      --
      Linux is for people who don't mind RTFM.
    2. Re:This cannot happen in Scotland! by alex67500 · · Score: 1

      If only you could use those in the rugby world cup stadiums... ;-)

    3. Re:This cannot happen in Scotland! by Sarten-X · · Score: 2

      A true gentleman knows how to play the bagpipes, but doesn't.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
  3. 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.

    1. Re:Drone enthusiast? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      In some fields "enthusiast" implies a degree of stupidity. Car enthusiasts often drive recklessly, hi-fi enthusiasts waste huge sums of money on snake oil. It looks like drone enthusiasts may be joining that list.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  4. 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:As a UAV flyer myself... by GregoryOakley-steven · · Score: 1

      Another issue is the Ipro stadium (used to be called Pride Park) in derby is on a complex of mostly privately owned businesses with a fair bit of foot traffic (thing pizza hut/costo etc.), so even it flying over roads only a single malfunction could cause injury.

    5. Re:As a UAV flyer myself... by brambus · · Score: 1

      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.

      Alas, it's the 1% of dumbasses that might eventually make regulation a necessity. If there's one constant in the world, it's that there will always be some idiots.

  5. Nigel the asshole by AndyKron · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Nigel Wilson of Nottingham sounds like quite the asshole.

  6. Re:Shite by C0R1D4N · · Score: 4, Informative

    It does make sense. The ship is a museum parked in the river. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  7. 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?

  8. Re: Shite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Note the emphasis on the word "the".

  9. Re:Seems like a reasonable rule set and outcome by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2, Informative

    Great risks seem unlikely unless the drone was carrying something really bad.

    What it was carrying was "mass" with a failure mode of "plummet."

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  10. Re:Elephant in the Room by dave420 · · Score: 1

    We're discussing Britain, not Great Britain. The former is a political entity and the latter an island. Feel free to post a story about Cameron's porcine fancies if you wish, but get the terminology right ;)

  11. Re:Shite by khallow · · Score: 1

    Eh, I guess my ears aren't refined enough. Doesn't roll off the tongue, but sounds ok to me.

  12. Good by kbg · · Score: 1

    As I drone enthusiast myself I say it is a good thing this asshole was fined. You never ever fly over any congested areas because it doesn't matter if you are a good pilot or not, you can always have rotor malfunction or interferance leading to loss of control and over congested areas that is very likely to lead to injuries to bystanders.

  13. Re:Elephant in the Room by Malc · · Score: 2

    I think it's acceptable usage to use 'Great Britain' in the same way as 'Britain', considering that 'Team GB' represented the whole of the UK in the Olympics.

  14. Pointing at the wrong topic here by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

    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...

    Wait, there's a place called iPro Stadium? Who was the fool to think of this name and why hasn't Apple sued them yet?

    1. Re:Pointing at the wrong topic here by GregoryOakley-steven · · Score: 1

      The stadium is the home of Derby County football club, it used to be called Pride Park(like the rest of the complex) but got renamed due to a branding deal with a drinks company with a name that shouldn't take much guessing.

  15. Re:Elephant in the Room by Triklyn · · Score: 1

    meh, hazing, and at worst a dead pig head.

    i was expecting more "farmyard bride", and less "dumb 20 year old puts his twig and berries on random objects to one up his idiot friends"

  16. blanket restrictions by NostalgiaForInfinity · · Score: 1

    In principle, it shouldn't be all that hard to design drones that don't pose a risk in crowded areas, that harmlessly spin to the ground if anything goes wrong. Blanket restrictions like this strongly discourage such developments.

    A second issue with these restrictions is that they often mix up criminal and civil matters and are at risk of getting abused by police and politicians for purposes other than public safety and protecting private property rights.

  17. Re:Shite by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

    It's HMS Belfast not "The" HMS Belfast.

    To me, it is still correct. The word "the" is to emphasize HMS. HMS is considered as one word. Even though "H" stands for 'Her', it doesn't actually work as possessive. Thus, to me it is still fine.

  18. "Drone failure will never happen to me" by peter303 · · Score: 1

    People may have exaggerated confidence in their pilot ability or luck. Thats when they push the envelop. Most arent intentionally trying to hurt property or people. We wont see change until their are some significant, publicized punishments.

  19. If it is not a Scottish drone... by zawarski · · Score: 1

    ...it's crap!

  20. Re:Elephant in the Room by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    So did Clinton, left his jizz on her dress to prove it. What's the big deal?

    Monica Lewinsky is alive. David Cameron fucked a dead pig.

    No, you can't spin this. The PM of England fucked a dead pig. He fucked. a dead. pig. As in, "had carnal relations with". Dead pig...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  21. Re:Seems like a reasonable rule set and outcome by tigersha · · Score: 1

    If you are still dating her she must have some other attributes. Does she fly with a remote control too?

    --
    The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  22. Re:Elephant in the Room by tigersha · · Score: 1

    Nor is it going to testify before the house of Lords.

    --
    The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  23. Re:I still prefer guns by tigersha · · Score: 1

    So you think that firing guns in a crowded football stadium at a very hard to hit flying object is going to IMPROVE public safety?

    --
    The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
  24. Re:Elephant in the Room by tehcyder · · Score: 1
    I believe he merely stuck his dick in the mouth of a dead pig as part of some posho initiation ceremony.

    Fucking amateur.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  25. Re:Elephant in the Room by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    As with Clinton, it was only oral, so it doesn't count.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  26. Re:Animal Interaction by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    Cats, well... those assholes suck.

    By which you mean that they're rather good at downing your toys?

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it