Too Many Close Encounters Between Drones And Aircrafts

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The ever growing number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by professionals and hobbyists alike is posing a significant risk to safety in an airspace shared by drones and manned aircraft, according to a new study. The  Drone Sightings and Close Encounters study, by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, identified 327 “close encounters” of drones with manned aircraft.

The team behind the report used data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Interior to analyse 921 recorded incidents from December 2013 to September 2015. The majority of the incidents, 594 in total, were of UAV sightings near the flight paths of manned aircraft, but not posing immediate danger. Some cases were far more dangerous, with 28 instances where the pilots “maneuvered to avoid a collision with a drone.”

“Close encounters” were defined as those incidents where a UAV came within 152 metres of a manned aircraft and where a pilot reported  a “near midair collision.” A “sighting,” according to the report, occurs when “a drone is spotted above its legal ceiling or in the vicinity of an airport or aircraft, but does not pose a clear potential for a collision.”

According to the report, during the first seven months of 2015 nearly eight times as many incidents were reported than in the same period a year earlier. With the number of drones held by civilians set to rapidly increase, there is a clear need for a reliable, accurate, and dependable air traffic control system for managing and mediating the airspace to accommodate both the needs of drone operators and the safety of air travellers.