Crack down now, or fatal drone crash ‘a matter of when, not if’
Australian authorities need to intensify efforts to raise public awareness of the rules surrounding drones before the proliferation of the machines causes a fatality, a leading provider of risk management and operations software has warned.
Avinet chief executive Mike Mulvihill believes the spike in the use of unmanned aerial systems by private operators, hobbyists and the emergence of a “for hire’’ industry has increased the risk of a drone-linked aviation fatality.
His warning comes after the pilot of an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 reported coming close to a drone while climbing out of Christchurch last week. The New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association expressed alarm that uninformed persons could buy a drone and operate near an airport “seemingly with little idea of the seriousness of their actions’’.
Mr Mulvihill said he had heard similar concerns while attending unmanned aerial systems seminars in Canada, the US and New Zealand. There had also been a consensus among experienced operators that a serious UAS accident was imminent. The Adelaide-based executive’s company produces software used by more than 6000 licenced pilots operating in a range of fields in 26 countries and has customers who have drones in their fleet.
“It is a case of when it will happen, not if it will happen,’’ he said.
“The technical capability and affordability of drones has taken the use of these UAS into a grey area where there are sound fundamental regulations in place but a general ignorance on the part of the new user group of what safety and compliance regimes are necessary for their operation.
“The US and New Zealand are reporting weekly incidents of breaches of airspace by poorly managed drones, including such mishaps as drones crashing into helicopter cockpits, and we are likely to start witnessing the same trend in local airspace.”
Mr Mulvihill believes Australia could look at setting up an organisation similar to US-based Know Before You Fly, which is dedicated to spreading information about safe and responsible flying to recreational users. Know Before You Fly was founded by three organisations with an interest in drone safety and is backed by US Federal Aviation Administration.
Mr Mulvihill said responsible drone operators understood their obligations in areas such as certification and regulatory approvals and agreed that the current regulations were clearly stated.
But he said some recreational operators were either unaware of the rules or ignored them. The price of drones has fallen precipitously in recent years and they can now be bought for as little as few hundred dollars. “I get told don’t drink and drive, I’ve got to slip, slop slap or I’ll get sunburnt and don’t smoke or I’ll get cancer,’’ he said. “But where’s the public awareness of what I can and can’t do with a drone?”
Australia has been a leader in the regulation of unmanned aerial systems and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has issued a number of warnings to recreational users after a series of incidents.
Commercial users must be certified and need to apply for approval before flying but new rules now delayed until next year will relax restrictions on aircraft weighing less than 2kg.
The rules covering recreational users stipulate the machines must be kept more than 30m away from people and must not be flown over crowds of people at beaches or sporting events. They can be operated only in daylight, must be kept in sight and are not allowed with 5km of an airport. They also cannot fly above 400ft.
CASA has struck a deal with one drone manufacturer to have written guidelines inserted in the boxes of aircraft sold in Australia.
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