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Gatwick flights suspended after reports of drones over runway

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that pic looks like a dji Inspire 1 are they not blocked from flying close to airports within the software
and this is not good for any of us
 
that pic looks like a dji Inspire 1 are they not blocked from flying close to airports within the software
and this is not good for any of us
That is just a shopped photo. These lfights are taking place in the dark. Another video shown by a passenger inside a plane looks to be showing a 'drone', but I suspect it was the helicopter looking for the culprits. The age of antisocial contact/media.
Anyway the rules are there to say what not to do and what will happen if you are caught. It's now just a matter of having effective ways of catching the idiots and/or downing their equipment.

As an add on - You can alter the software to take away restrictions if you know how.
 
Latest reports suggest the UAVs seen have been large industrial ones of the type not generally available to the public.
And apparently they keep appearing and disappearing, and have been doing so since 9 pm last night ! Doesn't sound like a randomer flying in the wrong place - more like a concerted effort to disrupt flight operations by someone who knows what they are doing and is frustratingly good at not being caught. Apparently 20 ground units and a chopper cannot find them after more than 10 hours trying ! Of course the public's anger is already being directed at UAV pilots in general so that's a real win for all us good guys :( Dear oh dear...
 
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It is sort interesting to me that if you Google "Bird strike Gatwick" you get a large number of stories about the bird problems there. Yet with the know hazard of birds, they do not stop flying. But an unproven allegation of drones, and they close down the airport. And birds have been proven to have caused more aircraft crashes than drones at this point.
 
Of course the public's anger is already being directed at UAV pilots in general so that's a real win for all us good guys :( Dear oh dear...
Indeed. The news is not good and we can expect more s**t coming our way because of this. From what I've read so far, the rozzers reckon they are industrial sized drones and that this is a deliberate act? Mmmmm. After the pages and pages of news coverage this has already generated and with TV crews on the spot and just about every person that has got a fairly good quality camera in their phones, I'm yet to see any convincing pictures or video of the drones in question. Just a short video taken at night that looked like an aircraft or helicopter to me. I'm not saying this is not a drone/drones but I want to see indisputable evidence....... Otherwise, it's just another UFO story - Where's commander Straker?
 
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If it was industrial sized drones, there can’t be that many owners/operators from which to contact. Truly makes one wonder if the government is doing it to pad its case for even more and tighter restrictions on sUAS operators.

It is rather odd there is only one night time video and it doesn’t show squat.

I do feel for those stranded and put out by the closing of Gatwick. Airports are not conducive to comfort and pleasantries after being there just a few hours, much less many hours or days. Hoping for a swift end to this ballyhoo.

If they are caught and convicted jail is inappropriate. They should be strung up spread eagle in public and have their drone launched into their unmentionables.
 
AeroJ I had to laugh at that page look at the ad on the bottom “who makes the best drone” couldn’t have timed it better
 
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OK, there's a picture of what at first glance seems to be a Mavic Air or something of that ilk? Hardly an industrial sized drone. As far as I can tell, it doesn't say the photo was actually taken at Gatwick or have I missed that? Could be just a library photo.

You're right it doesn't say that, but I don't think anyone would use a picture as awful quality as that unless it was the one in question ! But agree - that doesn't look industrial.
Odd configuration of lights though isn't it ? I'd expect anything DJI to be red at the front end, green at the back, which isn't what is going on in that pic...
 
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You're right it doesn't say that, but I don't think anyone would use a picture as awful quality as that unless it was the one in question ! But agree - that doesn't look industrial.
Well, whatever it turns out to be, I'll be keeping my head down for while at least. With the weather the way it is at the moment, that'll probably be pretty easy to achieve I think! I just hope that if it does turn out to be some knob-head flying a drone, they nail his arse to the wall for it, if they catch him/her. On the other hand, if it turns out not to be drone, can we expect all the news coverage that we have now saying that?
 
Without several videos showing the “drones” and the airport in close association I find it hard to put any credibility in the drone statement. Certainly the airport was shut down but were drones really present?

Our governments and industrial interests have a lot of reasons to enact laws to further restrict the general public and their activities so until irrefutable proof of drone incursions is made public I just can’t buy into the hysteria. It’s much too easy to orchestrate an airport shut down. It only requires orders to do so from a high level authority.
 
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You're right it doesn't say that, but I don't think anyone would use a picture as awful quality as that unless it was the one in question ! But agree - that doesn't look industrial.
And just a thought..... If it is a newish DJI product (which is what it looks like to me) whoever is flying it must have some knowledge on how to remove DJI NFZ's because I'm pretty sure my Mavic Pro wouldn't take off within 5 miles of Gatwick!
 
This story has made headlines world wide
I feel for everyone affected by it. I know I would not want to sit in a crowded airport listening to people *****. The part I disagree with is so convinced this maylay is caused by drones... meaning and stating more than one, but yet all I seen in every story about it was one very blurry picture
 
D***... as someone who has flown through Gatwick many times, I can say with absolute certainty that while it is not the biggest airport it is definitely one of the most organized and well-run by comparison (ATL, LHR) and it is always VERY busy. There has always been a very present and visible security element, so if this kind of report comes out of Gatwick I take it seriously. One person or a few people being careless and ignorant can cause such chaos - and as drone operators we have to do everything in our ability to distance ourselves from such behavior or our rights as drone operators will soon be gone - this kind of stupidity can quickly lead to any/all commercial drone operators having to work at a municipal/state/federal level and the private enterprise business people will be removed from the picture altogether. We can't control how irresponsible others are with their drones, so our only real defense is to be as compliant as possible. Things like this can strip us of all of our rights as drone operators. I don't care what the current state of the debate is about whether or not a drone can crash an airplane, I don't want to be in a 777 when a drone hits the glass or gets sucked into an engine.
 
This has inconvenienced so many people and they mention drones I seen one fuzzy picture. Unless they have more pictures they aren’t showing , something makes no sense
 
To all the posters. Please stay on topic with this thread. This thread does affect all of us. I have been noticing a lot of one liners that really are not relevant to the topic, and just whimsical comments. I understand you may be tempted to chime in on this one, but please only do so if it is actually going to add to the discussion vs posting just for the laugh. This happens too many times in threads that have serious content and I have been going though threads to put a stop to it. When it does happen, the thread gets lost in the comments. Again, please stay on topic.

Murray
 

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