Monday, August 12, 2019

Module 7.2 The Airport and the Environment


7.2 The Airport and the Environment

Drones are starting to fill our skies more and more. With more drones, comes more stories in the news about aircraft/drone near misses as well as even a couple of hits. What happens when a drone actually does hit an aircraft, or worse, gets injected in to an engine. We all know what happened to US Airways Flight 1549 after the engines ingested a flock of geese. Captain Chesley Sullenberger “Sully” landed it on the Hudson and became an instant hero. (Peterson, 2019) Birds we can’t control, but drones are controlled by humans, we should be able to keep them under control, right?

The FAA has started to set up regulations around “recreational drone flying”. Several rules and requirements are already in place, including registration of your drone. The FAA even plans to have an aeronautical knowledge and safety test that drone operators will need to take and pass. They will also need to carry proof that they passed the test as well as proof of registration with them, when flying their drone. The best way to make sure that people are following these laws is to work together. Much like laser pointers, aircraft operators are going to have to work together and report what they see. There are rules in place to keep drones out of controlled airspace and violators need to be penalized. However they can only be penalized if they are caught. (FAA, 2019)

This is footage of a drone being flown over Hollywood Florida, almost hitting a helicopter. Posted by DroneDJ (2018, August 17) Near-miss video shows risk of flying drones in busy airspace as helicopter suddenly appears. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwIBEgrQnmA

Peterson, Barbara (2019, January 15). The 'Miracle on the Hudson' Flight: 8 Things You Might Not Know, a Decade Later. Retrieved from https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-miracle-on-the-hudson-flight-things-you-might-not-know

Federal Aviation Administration. (2019, July 22). Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations. Retrieved from. https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_fliers/



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