British Yahoos Fly Drones Too Close to Airports, Prompting Government Response
Drone away from planes, OK?
Over the month of September in the U.K. there were four near-collisions between drones and aircraft, the Times of London reports. That’s a surge from seven misses the year before, prompting officials to consider technological measures to keep hobbyists out of the way of flying machines that, you know, are full of people.
English Transportation Under-Secretary Robert Goodwill announced Monday that plans to regulate drone traffic are under discussion. The Telegraph reports that mandatory GPS chips, enabling tracking and a national database of drones is an option.
On the American side of the pond, the Federal Aviation Administration too has a drone bone to pick; last year helicopter and plane pilots reported 238 drones to the FAA. In 2015, by August there were already 650 reports flying drones near other aircraft were “dangerous and illegal,” the FAA announced in a press release. Control your drones, or you end up with stiff fines or in the slammer, the agency added.
Society is still trying to figure out just what to do with drones. If you are not careful, a drone will cut off the tip of your nose at a T.G.I. Friday’s. On the other hand, it’s a federal crime to shoot drones out of the sky.
At the risk of sounding like an anti-robot Trump, maybe invisible drone fences aren’t a bad idea?
