Slashdot Mirror
Jet Strikes Drone Near Heathrow Airport (marketwatch.com)
smooth wombat writes: "A British Airways flight Sunday appears to have collided with a drone on a flight bound for London's busy Heathrow Airport in what may be the first such incident involving a major airline," according to MarketWatch. "The flight from Geneva, Switzerland to Heathrow, Europe's busiest hub, is believed to have struck a drone, the London Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The plane landed safely following the incident, which occurred around 12:50 p.m. local time. 'It was only a matter of time before we had a drone strike given the huge numbers being flown around by amateurs who don't understand the risks and the rules,' said BALPA flight safety specialist Steve Landells... 'Much more education of drone users and enforcement of the rules is needed to ensure our skies remain safe from this threat'."
I hope everybody is ok. This bodes very poorly for drone ultraregulation and enforcement. As the summary says, it was only a matter of time.
I got a small, China made drone here.
The bilingual (Chinese/Chinglish) manual makes me understand how to operate the thing, but not a single word about safety. Just adding legal limits (e.g. minimum distance from airports, maximum height, distance from buildings - or even links to national web sites where such rules are explained) of where to fly them would be a great improvement.
What a moron. We have wait until an airliner crashes, then we do something, right? You'll notice that the thing was not sucked into an engine, and that the 747 was landing, not taking off. If both those criteria had been met then your post might read a little differently. You appear not to notice the research that has been conducted on bird strikes on large jets for many years. You also seem to be unaware of the unlucky passengers of light aircraft who have had large birds land in their laps, along with chunks of perspex and aluminium. The pilots are asking for more research, but you'd rather not find out because, hey, your rights trump everything and everyone.
No, they've said that such collisions could result in a loss of life.
This drone apparently hit the plane's nose. If it were an engine intake at a critical moment, the story could be quite different. It happens occasionally with bird strikes, and it can happen with drones, that an incident will cause significant damage.
One key difference between birds and drones, though, is that birds tend to avoid aircraft. Stupid humans, on the other hand, tend to do ever-dumber things without realizing the risks they're causing. Current drones are usually small, lightweight, plastic little things... but there are plenty of larger kits out there, and improving battery technology is making it cheaper and easier to pose a real threat. The age of rare aviation is over, and now everyone can put an obstacle into the flight path if they want to, without even realizing that there's a danger to others.
It's a careful balance to be struck... Little Bobby's 6-ounce toy isn't a risk, but if Bobby starts flying a drone at age 10 without any limits, he won't be expecting limits when he flies a 20-pound drone at age 20. Trying to record the neighbor girl sunbathing might be rude, but trying to record the takeoff of an approaching single-engine airplane might be deadly.
That's the concern for lawmakers and airlines. Current technology and incidents present only annoyances for pilots, but now is the time to start thinking about regulation, and hopefully lay out reasonable limits. Don't wait until after the first deadly drone strike, when all the politicians bring their knee-jerk reactions.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
And, do you really think that if someone wants to use a drone to try crashing a plane, the regulation is going to stop them?
Might as well take that stupid "murder" law off the books as well, then, eh?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Everyone assuming these are accidents instead of trial runs. Two drones, each carrying a titanium bar, targeting an engine on ascent would make for a very sad day.
I'm a bit surprised this hasn't happened yet on US air bases in Afghanistan or Iraq, but on the other hand, targeting civilians is more 'terrifying'.
Here's hoping it never happens, but I can't see how.
Of course, it will instantly be used to justify even more destruction of our rights, privacies, and religious tolerance. The powers that be are delighted to still run (and profit from) the Bin Laden playbook and finally bring about the West vs. Islam war he desired.
This is bullshit. All you have to do is park your car on the side of the highway close to the teavel lane to experience the extreme buffeting that shakes the entire car as every single vehicle goes by at high speed 6 feet away.
Yes, as the vehicle passes, not before it gets there. I see why you didn't log in, son.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"