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Airprox Board Says Police Drone and Military Jet had 'Near-Miss'

posted by janrinok on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:05PM   Printer-friendly
from the government-v-government dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

A police drone had a "near-miss" with a fighter jet travelling at 520mph (836km/h), a report has revealed.

The drone's operator "honestly believed" the two would collide in mid-air, according to [PDF] the UK Airprox Board. It said the risk of a crash above Throwleigh, Devon, was "high" but the officer had lowered the drone quickly. Devon and Cornwall Police said it had notified Airprox, which was "content that there was no blame nor any lessons to be learned".

The drone was flying at an altitude of about 300ft (90m) on 16 January, according to the report. "The jet came into view from right to left and seemed to pass by the drone at the same altitude; it looked like the jet was within 200m laterally of the drone. Once the jet was in view it started banking to the right and [the operator] honestly believed it was going to collide with the drone."

"The jet continued and was followed a few seconds later by a second jet."

The F-15 pilot, who was flying at an altitude of 500ft (152m), could not see the drone, the report added. The board said the case had prompted discussions about whether the service which helps the military plan routes through UK airspace should incorporate information from other sources.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:34PM

    by frojack (1554) on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:34PM (#686888) Journal

    So yeah the jet pilot, if he were in the USA, would be violating a metric (well, imperial-measure) shitton of laws, which as I previously stated are never enforced on military pilots.

    You've been watching too many Top Gun reruns.
    Military pilots get reamed quite severly for this kind of show-boating, especially over populated areas.

    However In the present case:

    THE F15 PILOT reports that he was the lead aircraft in a pair of F15s conducting a low-flying mission
    in LFA2(low flight area #2) in accordance with all known governing directives. NOTAMs were checked and the mission
    was booked through the CADS system, which showed no conflicts. Neither pilot, nor the weapons
    system operators saw the drone.
    ...
    The Airprox (incident) occurred on the northern edge of Dartmoor some distance from any notable habitation
    and therefore in an area where military aircraft can operate to their minimums. Both the drone
    operator and the F-15E pilot were operating within their regulations which, in the case of the F-15E,
    was not below 500ft agl. Nevertheless, it is of note that within the UKLFS RAF fast-jets can use a
    minimum of 250ft MSD.

    Everybody was following the rules it would appear.
    The Rules need to be updated.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
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