drone hits a plane in canada

As drone usage continues to increase, the regulations for flight will also continue to increase and there is clearly a serious need for them to. New safety standards that are currently being proposed in various countries will include that each drone is registered by the owner. This will help authorities impose fines and prison sentences to those that break the law when flying their drones.

Since drones are becoming more popular, Canada already has a rule in place when it regards to flying drones near their airports. Drones are not allowed to be flown within 3.5 miles of airports and when they are flown, they are not to exceed an altitude of over 300 feet. These laws are designed to keep airplane passengers safe and should keep drones from flying within the flight path at all times.

The drone airplane crash in Canada is the first documented of its kind though there are hundreds of drone accidents each year. The drone in this accident was flying outside of the 3.5 mile range of the airport, but it was being flown 1500 feet, which is much higher than is allowed. The drone actually struck the wing of the plane and caused damage, but thankfully, the plane was still able to land with zero injuries at Jean Lesage International airport.

Drone pilots that aren’t following basic laws are causing drone tech companies to develop tools that will protect places such as our airports and other restricted flight zones. One company recently developed a tracking system that will allow all drones within a certain area to immediately be tracked and their registered user information forwarded to the authorities. Some countries are even coming up with creative techniques to assist with controlling drones, and that is by training bald eagles to catch and remove any flying objects within a certain area. Another method that is being considered for use in extreme cases is flying a drone that has the ability to shoot other drones from the sky. When taking into consideration the amount of money that an airport makes, no solution is too far fetched. The airport in Dubai reportedly loses one million dollars per minute any time that the airport is shut down. With closures three times of approximately 30 minutes each due to drones in the last year, it is clear why they want more strict regulations in place.

As drone technology and usage increases, there will definitely be a lot of advancements in laws for drone users. Enthusiasts that do not follow rules are going to be cracked down on and forced to pay fines of up to $20,000 and serve a prison sentence. Since users are not following current rules and regulations, each country will need to crack down on the drone pilots and enforce strict punishments in order to keep everyone safe.

There are 2 comments:

  • Chris Crumley at 6:41 pm

    Equipment failure notwithstanding, intentional flights outside the FAA guidelines is unnecessary and inexcusable. It should be dealt with in similar fashion with reckless driving, driving under the influence and similar automobile violations if no damage occurs. If there is damage or loss of life, the penalties escalate.

    I’ve flown since early drone availability and have never felt the need to exceed 400′ AGL and rarely 300′.

    If one needs higher altitudes, a helicopter contract is appropriate.

  • Ed at 12:03 am

    I am in favor of the methods mentioned to better control and support safe drone flying. Great articles!

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