Drone Proliferation Puts Civil Aviation On The Spot
The rapid growth in drone use has increased concerns about safety and privacy. Curiously, regulators have been unable to keep pace, writes WOLE SHADARE
In the beginning
Until recently the domain of the military and a handful of hobbyists, play an increasing role in businesses, including agriculture, engineering and real estate. Still more untested uses are under consideration, such as using drones to deliver packages to customers.
Millions of consumers also are buying the machines and taking to the skies. The violation of airspace by the deployment of drones has raised concern over air travel and not a few said it is a matter of time before a drone causes an air disaster.
Incidents
Not long, a drone crashed into an Airbus A320 approaching Heathrow airport.
Thankfully, the plane landed intact, but the incident is the latest in a series of increasingly worrying events. Just last week, Dubai International Airport, said to be the world’s busiest airport for international travel, closed its airspace for 69 minutes due to unauthorised drone activity, causing 22 flights to be diverted, aviation authorities said.
Government-owned Dubai Airports, which operates Dubai’s two main airports, said in a statement the closure lasted between 11:36 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. (0639-0745 GMT), and Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths said thousands of passengers suffered disruption to their journeys.
Spokesperson for Dubai airport said 16 of the diverted flights went to Dubai World Central and Dubai’s other main airport. Dubai, a trade, tourism and investment hub for the Gulf region, is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Africa grounds drone usage
Across Africa, drones have been grounded because the governments don’t fully understand the technology, and amateur pilots don’t understand how to fly them properly. The regulation of drones in Africa is about more than if a machine can fly the skies of the continent unburdened; it forebears Africa’s relationship with new, disruptive technologies.
NCAA frets
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently said it is worried about the use of drones in the country and has taken cognisance of the growing requests for the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) leading to its proliferation in Nigeria. The development of the use of RPA nationwide has emerged with somewhat predictable safety concerns and security threats. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is yet to publish Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), as far as certification and operation of civil use of RPA is concerned. NCAA has therefore put in place Regulations/Advisory Circular to guide the certification and operations of civil RPA in the Nigerian airspace” The agency, through its spokesman, Sam Adurogboye reiterated that the NCAA would ensure that applicants and holders of permits to operate RPA/Drones must strictly be guided by safety guidelines while in addition; operators must ensure strict compliance with the conditions stipulated in their permits and the requirements of the Nig.CARs. Violators shall be sanctioned according to the dictates of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs). According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), there have been 23 incidents involving drones at UK airports over the past six months, including 12 “category A” near-miss scenarios – four of them in January alone. The threat isn’t restricted to British skies. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) receives over 100 reports of drone incidents every month. One was reportedly seen flying over Los Angeles Airport at 8,000 feet – the altitude at which aircraft fly in a holding pattern.
Kenya shows concern
There is a general concern that without regulation, drones could be misused to create acts of unlawful interference, terrorism and other negative things,” said Capt. Gilbert Kibe, the Director General of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. Kenya is developing drone regulations that will be two tiered, Kibe said. Recreational drone users will have less restriction, while commercial pilots will face higher barriers to fly.
Drone abuse in Europe, US
Last year, one was spotted over Istanbul Airport, the fifth busiest in the world, despite claims that the airport had been geofenced – that is, protected by an electronic exclusion zone that prevents the remotecontrolled craft from entering.
The White House has had drones flown onto the lawn, and French authorities reported over 60 incidents over their nuclear facilities between October 2014 and February 2015. Meanwhile, the global UAS (unmanned air system) market is predicted to grow 33 per cent to around $6 billion by 2020.
What started as a niche pursuit has turned into something potentially far more serious. So as their number is only going to increase and a serious crash is not beyond the realms of possibility. In the UK, the CAA has mandated that drone should be within direct, unaided, line of sight of the pilot. Experts said they should also be no higher than 400 feet above the ground, and 500 metres from the operator.
Drones need to remain more than 150 metres away from congested areas, and should not be flown directly above people, vehicles, vessels and property, unless those persons are “under the control of the person in charge of the drone”.
Unsurprisingly, these rules are constantly and flagrantly flouted. Internationally, most aviation authorities are trying to enforce similar regulations – but with equally limited success.
The problem is mainly one of detection: air traffic control radar systems are designed to identify large aircraft, not tiny drones flying at low altitudes at up to 45mph. IATA cries out The Director-General of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Tony Tyler, said drones flown by the general public are “a real and growing threat” to civilian aircraft. Tyler called for drone regulations to be put in place before any serious accidents occur.
He said the threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles is still evolving. “I am as excited as you are about the prospect of having pizza delivered by a drone,” he told a conference in Singapore recently. “But we cannot allow [drones] to be a hindrance or safety threat to commercial aviation,” said Tyler.
“The issue is real. We have plenty of pilot reports of drones where they were not expected, particularly at low altitudes around airports,” he added.
“There is no denying that there is a real and growing threat to the safety of civilian aircraft coming from drones. “We need a sensible approach to regulation and a pragmatic method of enforcement for those who disregard rules and regulations and put others in danger.”
Drones were recently involved in four serious near-misses at UK airports, the UK Air Proximity Board said lasat January. The board, which investigates near-miss incidents in UK airspace, said a drone had come very close to colliding with a Boeing 737 that had taken off from Stansted airport. IATA’s primary concern is drones flying at low altitudes near airports that could threaten planes taking off or landing.
US floats guidelines
Aviation regulators also want to make sure that the radio spectrum used to control the drones does not interfere with air traffic control systems, he said. Last December, the US government set up a registration system for Americans who own drones. Anyone who has a drone must register with the Federal Aviation Administration before the device takes its first flight.
Owners have been told to register their details or face being fined. The move comes after several reported incidents of drones hindering emergency services’ efforts in fighting fires and other dangers.
Conclusion
Drone experts say that regulations are necessary, but that there is a way to target the problem without stifling innovation. They argued that despite the threat they pose to civil aviation, pilots are flying anyway. Restrictions, they said can be put on flying around airports or major cities, for example, but still allow for drones to fly in the rest of the country.
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