Friday, November 13, 2015

Ocean City Municipal Airport (26N), drones on collision course

Pilot Craig Johnston flies above Ocean City, New Jersey. 

Pilot Craig Johnston, 62, of Ocean City, owner of Way To Go Aero, supports a proposed ban of drones within five miles of Ocean City Municipal Airport. He says planes and drones are a dangerous mix with potentially catastrophic results for planes if the two collide.


Pilot Craig Johnston discusses drone use near his plane at the Ocean City Airport, New Jersey.
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Like the city below it, Ocean City’s airspace is getting crowded.

And before the competition for territory turns deadly, the mayor wants to outlaw drones flying over the land.


Citing concerns for safety and privacy, Mayor Jay Gillian last month proposed an ordinance that would ban drones within a 5-mile radius of the municipal airport.


While the rule is no more restrictive than the one implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration, it effectively puts the entire 8-mile island off limits to the unmanned aerial devices.


Should the ordinance pass on second reading at tonight’s City Council meeting, it will make the city the first in the state to take such a measure, according to the New Jersey League of Municipalities. Cape May and Long Beach Township are discussing regulations for drones.


“We have an airport,” Gillian said. “We’re not Sea Isle. We’re not Avalon. We use that airport for medical evacuations. Ocean City is a very big town, and we have a lot going on. I think it’s my responsibility as mayor to put something in place until the laws can catch up to it. I’m just trying to protect Ocean City.”


The law would punish violators with a fine up to $500 for the first offense and a fine of up to $1,000 or 30 days in jail for following offenses.


There have been no conflicts locally between drones and planes, but other airports have had incidents. A commercial airliner reported a drone at about 400 feet while landing in July at Newark Liberty International Airport. Los Angeles has reported more than 40 incidents since April 2014.


“As a pilot, the biggest concern we have is safety,” said Craig Johnston, 62, of Ocean City. “What that means in this situation is separation. It’s a big sky, but we need separation.”


The owner of Way To Go Aero charter flights, Johnston has been flying to the island’s airport for 35 years. He said planes fly too fast for pilots to see drones until it is too late, and a collision with one of the devices could stop an engine, shatter a windshield or tear an airplane’s aluminum skin, all with potentially devastating consequences.


“A drone is a piece of equipment,” Johnston said. “At our airport, we’re talking about pilots and passengers versus a piece of equipment that is unmanned.”


Bob Duffy, 64, and Milt “Skip” Reisen, 78, both of Ocean City, said they endorse a registration system for drones. They believe that would result in greater accountability for the owners of the machines. The federal government is rushing to put a national registry in place by December, anticipating that drones will be this year’s hottest holiday gift with as many as 1 million units sold.


“You don’t know the motives of the person flying the drone,” Duffy said. “They can be equipped with anything you want: phones, guns, cameras. Why are they doing it, if not to take photos or video?”


The men, who meet regularly at the airport diner for breakfast, said they support restrictions on drones for the same reasons the mayor does: safety and privacy. In addition to the many decks on houses, there are outdoor showers to consider, they said.


“I don’t disagree with a national registry,” Johnston said. “But if I’m on final approach, it doesn’t matter if it’s registered or not, if I hit it.”


Fans of drones say the maneuverable devices can be used for beneficial reasons, such as marketing and going where people cannot. The machines also afford a different viewpoint than the one on the ground. Avalon, for example, used a drone in the spring to take aerial views as its one-eighth-mile track was under construction.


Gloria Votta, president of the Ocean City Board of Realtors and its 550 members, said the local organization is following the lead of the National Association of Realtors, which “advises members that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for real estate marketing is currently prohibited by the FAA.”


Cody Allen, 21, of Port Republic, Atlantic County, used his drone over the summer to take pictures of friends surfing in the ocean and of the beach replenishment project that took place in the south end of Ocean City.


A drone owner for a year, Allen said he keeps his machine within eyesight for safety reasons and favors both a registration system and the ability to obtain a permit for unmanned flights in special circumstances. He also endorses insurance for drones, like that for vehicles, for damage and liability.


In addition to being a tool for marketing and inexpensive film production, Allen said other drone applications include checking farm crops and dangerous conditions on mountains, and patrolling for sharks along shorelines.


A hobbyist photographer, Allen said drone ownership provides a way to capture images he otherwise would not be able to. “I’m fascinated by the ability to have a way to take spectacular shots,” he said.


- Story, video and photo gallery:  http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com



Pilot Craig Johnston flies above Ocean City, New Jersey.


Drone ban doesn't fly freely in Ocean City, New Jersey

OCEAN CITY – Calling the mayor’s proposed ban on drones “half baked” and “too broad” to earn its full support, City Council on Thursday night unanimously adopted an amended ordinance with a September sunset clause.

Unless council adopts a revised law before its first meeting in September 2016, the complete ban on drone use on the island, which will be in effect for nine months, will expire. The action makes the resort community the first in the state to outright ban the use of the devices from its airspace.

“It’s not thought-out,” Councilman Michael DeVlieger said. He criticized the law, which bans drones at any height within five miles of the municipal airport, for excluding “100 positive uses” in an effort to punish a small number of abusers. “I highly suggest we table it.”

But Mayor Jay Gillian, who proposed the ban to unanimous council support on Oct. 22, defended the ordinance, citing several run-ins with the unmanned flying machines. He said his wife had been followed by a drone and that one had crashed over the summer at his amusement park on the Boardwalk.

“To make it personal, I think I have to a little bit because I’ve dealt with it,” Gillian said, adding he also took exception to the drone that had taken pictures at Wonderland, despite the virtues of those photos being extolled by Council President Keith Hartzell.

“Why would I ban somebody who got 103,000 hits that showed Ocean City in a pristine condition?’ Hartzell asked. “I’m going to ban something that showed our town in a really good way?”

“It was offensive to me,” Gillian said, mentioning the $800,000 cost of the Ferris wheel around which the drone had flown. He said the risk of an unmanned device crashing into a power grid and cutting off electricity to businesses packed with visitors or to people who depend on medical equipment was too great for him to ignore.

Council Vice President Pete Madden suggested the sunset clause as a compromise and, after protracted discussion on what length of time that should extend, council voted 5-2 to accept the amendment and 7-0 to adopt the ordinance as amended.

Councilman Pete Guinosso endorsed the ban without reservation, a stark counterpoint to DeVlieger’s insistence the ordinance as written was incomplete and irresponsible. The other five council members were easily amendable to Madden’s suggestion the law be temporarily adopted with the understanding it could be revised at any time.

Most of the objections to the ordinance focused on how prohibitive it is. While the majority of public comment came from those who supported the ban, including some who reported unpleasant Big Brotherlike experiences with the devices, several speakers pointed out the law was too draconian and that enforcement would be challenging. One even questioned what a drone is.

Other communities have successfully passed less-restrictive drone rules. For example, in the ordinance it adopted in May regulating drones below 400 feet within the community, Long Beach Township listed the specific uses that were exempt from enforcement, including public safety, educational and business reasons.

- Source:  http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com


Pilot's view Ocean City Airport, New Jersey. 

Drone photo of Ocean City Boardwalk by Cody Allen.

1 comment:

  1. The problem is the media hype of "drones" there have been a some isolated incidents involving them that are from individuals that have no regard for laws or rules. Any legislating will not stop these individuals. We need to educate people on the real use of "drones". 98% of them are hobbyists that just do it for fun, and abide by rules already set forth by the AMA. There are thousands upon thousands of flights every day in this country that no one talks about. Saying that one could take out the power grid is just rediculous, could it? Sure, but the chances are that of a manned aircraft could do the same, with much more devastation.

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