Police officials say the
sighting of a personal drone in restricted Los Angeles International
Airport airspace and another over City Hall support the need to clarify
civilian drone use laws.
In the first incident on Aug. 4, police
said a personal drone was spotted by a Canadian jetliner hovering about
10 miles east of LAX at 4,000 feet – an altitude outside Federal
Aviation Administration guidelines for hobbyists with drones and and
also within the airport’s Class B airspace.
To fly that high and
close to LAX brings with it a host of responsibilities, including having
a transponder on the aircraft and two-way communication with air
traffic controllers, federal officials said.
Los Angeles police
learned of the drone when the airline pilot asked air traffic
controllers if it was a police drone. The LAPD’s two drones are locked
away in a federal building and have not been used.
In the second
incident, employees on the LAPD’s 10th floor on the northwest side of
the building said they looked out their window Aug. 14 to see a drone
hovering outside their window.
After some in the office waved at
it and snapped pictures, it flew across the street to City Hall and got
close to the rooftop antennae.
While authorities say the drone
spotted near LAX violated FAA regulations, the one downtown does not
appear to have violated any laws.
There are plenty of
restrictions on law enforcement's use of drones and a permitting process
for commercial operators. But not so for public users, something police
have had to come to terms with recently.
“Everyone is going to
suffer because of a reckless pilot,” said LAPD Air Support Capt. Gary
Walters. “You don’t expect to see one at 1,000 feet when you’re doing
130 mph going to an emergency call to the Coliseum.”
The
department is talking with the FAA and local lawmakers about what can be
done to bring existing laws up to date so they apply to drones,
officials said.
- Source: http://www.latimes.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment