Commercial Flight Has Close Encounter With Unidentified Custom Drone From University
A commercial airliner arriving at the James Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada had a close encounter with an unidentified drone far above commercial specifications, according to a report from CBC. Radar plots from Nav Canada indicate that the drone was launched from somewhere near the University of Manitoba.
While flying at an altitude of 900 meters (about 3,000 ft.) the pilot noticed the drone nearby, flying approximately 25 meters — 80 ft. — away from the plane. In general, drones should not be operated within five miles of an airport, and all aircraft should typically remain at least three lateral miles or 1,000 vertical feet apart to avoid creating a collision hazard.
Const. Rob Carver of the Winnipeg Police Service received the information from Nav Canada that the operator was likely at the University of Manitoba but police were unable to locate either operator or drone. Police were unable to say if the drone’s presence near the aircraft was intentional, or speculate on motive.
“Whoever was operating this UAV put it up into a flight path. This wasn’t somebody taking pictures of a baseball diamond. Not only does it contravene all sorts of Transport Canada rules and regulations regarding UAVs, a slight error could have put this into collision with the aircraft, which could have been catastrophic.”
Due mostly to the presence of the international airport, much of Winnipeg is restricted airspace.
“Unless we can find the actual operator on the ground, law enforcement, including Winnipeg police, have no ability to get a drone out of the air. We can’t chase them. It’s not safe, and it wouldn’t be safe for our helicopter.”
While this is the first time that a drone has been reported in the path of an airplane in Winnipeg, police said that these incidents are becoming increasingly common, both in Canada and around the world, and, according to Transport Canada, drone operators can expect to see more rules in place soon – including classification of drones, marking and registration requirements, personal licensing and training and the establishment of flight rules.
This incident has moved up the timetable for those changes; federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau intends to address the proposed regulations on Monday.
Commercial drone operators in Canada are already required to hold a Special Flight Operations Certificate and comply with its restrictions, but, although the police may take action regarding personal drone flights, currently no certification is required to fly a personal drone.
America already has much stricter regulations in place; last year, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration introduced a requirement for all drone owners to register online, something that might have been a significant help to the Winnipeg police.
Meanwhile, Const. Carver indicated that this was no ordinary drone.
“It’s hugely concerning because this isn’t just your average hobby drone. It was able to go to 3,000 feet, which is unusual.”
“Someone directed it to go up 3,000 feet, which means somebody also directed it to be near an aircraft. That is incredibly concerning to not just the pilot, but the people in the aircraft.”
Winnipeg Police Services continue to search for leads.
“We’re not in the business of managing air space over Winnipeg, but certainly someone on the ground was directing this, which is why we come into play.”
Having launched from the university, it’s likely that this drone was nothing more sinister than a university project and an overenthusiastic student. But even the most popular commercial drones can usually only reach a height of about 500 m – 1,650 ft. – before losing contact with their remotes, and FAA requirements state that no drone can be flown above 400 m.
[Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
