Drone Hits Ba Plane

[naomi24]

A police investigation is under way after a passenger plane approaching Heathrow Airport was hit by what is believed to have been a drone.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36069002

So, as the BBC ask, are drones dangerous or harmless fun?

[RATTER15]

BRIGHT SPARK, yes very different, herons are not able to be steered directly at an aeroplane deliberately!!

[BRIGHT SPARK]

So where is the evidence that thats the case.

[mushroom25]

//If the plane hit a Heron on final approach would it be on the news..and is it so different. //

if a heron goes into a jet engine, the results are fairly predictable. if 20-30kg of carbon fibre goes into an engine, well that's not anything that's ever been tested. would it bring a plane down? nobody knows. would you be prepared to risk 200 lives and allow unfettered drone use just because "it's no different to a bird strike"?

[ToraToraTora]

"If the plane hit a Heron on final approach would it be on the news..and is it so different. " - not so bright spark, yes very different,l flown by a person what if it's test run by terrorists? the next one could have 5lbs of C4, think it through son!

[Peter Pedant]

// The central contradiction, for me, is that this has to be a person who is smart enough to hold down a job,//

naaaaa - the central contradiction for me is that since oo 1904 there have been these unlicensed flying things flying around ( as they do ) and no one has turned a hair - oh they are called " birds " by the way

and so - someone may say - a bird never consciously flies into a plane - yeah yeah bird-strikes are an unknown phenomenon

[douglas9401]

20-30 kgs of carbon fibre, mushroom? I think you're confusing a drone with a small dinghy.

[Peter Pedant]

give em hell Bright spark

[BRIGHT SPARK]

And so the media brainwashing continues....until we know the facts lets not get too excited boys.

[Peter Pedant]

oh god Pigs may fly - doug - pigs may fly .....
and dinghies

[mushroom25]

//20-30 kgs of carbon fibre, mushroom?//

yep, they can be that big.

http://www.cripps.co.uk/drones-and-the-law/

[mushroom25]

it's all about risk management. bird strikes cannot be eliminated, so the best way of managing this is to minimise so far as is practicable, and to understand the mechanics of several kg of flesh, bone and feathers on aircraft engine parts as one attempts to destroy the other. engines can be bird-proofed to an extent, but when the bird is as big as a canada goose (q/v "miracle on the hudson") there's not much that can be done.

no-one's ever tested an aircraft engine with a drone. do we need to? do we need to legislate for a risk that's entirely man made? it's far easier to eliminate the risk by keeping drones away from aircraft. and since drones aren't sentient beings, this is easier (and cheaper) than trying to drone-proof aircraft engines.

[douglas9401]

They CAN be that size and over but not for the price that a slack-jawed yokel would pay in Drones 'R' Us.
I suspect the really large ones will be used professionally, not by cash rich scrap metal dealers and geezers.

[mushroom25]

//not for the price that a slack-jawed yokel would pay in Drones 'R' Us.//

do not underestimate the rivalry between slack jawed yokels when it comes to playing games of "my drone's bigger than your drone - and my drone did far more damage than your drone".

[douglas9401]

I hadn't realised there had been studies done to be honest.
Who'd have imagined?

[Hypognosis]

@mushroom25

This is a deadly serious topic yet this phrase

//do not underestimate the rivalry between slack jawed yokels//

gave me a fit of the giggles before I was able to read the rest of the sentence.

Yes, one-upmanship is one of the more comical aspects of human nature but I suspect it is the backbone of the economy or even civilisation, in general. If people were happy and contented with only the things they truly needed, we'd still be living in caves.

[Old_Geezer]

These things should be licensed and obligatory continuous sending a call sign so those responsible are identified in case one needs to arrest and 'throw the book' at them.

No wish to curtail the hobby of responsible folk but there's a need to ensure that the idiots don't have access.

Now, what can we do about laser pointers, and how long before someone sticks a few on a drone ?

[Answerprancer]

As with anything that flies highish (kites, RC planes etc) it's common sense that you shouldn't do it near an airport. I do wish people would stop using the hysteria-perpetuating term "drones", they're 'quad-copters' (usually) and they are great fun.

[tamborine]

Airways say the drone was in Richmond. Flights at Heathrow would be too high in Richmond for a drone imo.

[naomi24]

Tamborine, as the crow flies (so to speak) that's only 10km (I checked). The plane was preparing to land.

[tamborine]

Where didyou check naomi. Am about 8miles from Heathrow (not flight path) & no way will our drone fly as high as planes.