Even small drones could cause severe consequences by damaging a helicopter\u2019s rotor<\/a> or getting sucked into a jet engine. A drone could also crash through a windshield, incapacitating the pilot, though that\u2019s mainly seen as a risk to small aircraft.<\/p>\n\u201cOn an airliner, because of the thickness of the glass, I think it\u2019s pretty unlikely, unless it\u2019s a very large drone,\u201d said John Cox, a former airline pilot and now a safety consultant.<\/p>\n
Drones that collide with planes could cause more damage than birds of the same size because of their solid motors, batteries and other parts, according to a study released by the FAA.<\/p>\n
Authorities could capture drones with anti-drone \u201cnet guns\u201d that fire lightweight netting, but such equipment can be pricey and have limited range, and it is not widely used.<\/p>\n
As for taking one down with a rifle, hitting a small, fast-moving object like a drone would be difficult even for a marksman, and the bullet could hit someone, experts say. There\u2019s also the risk of damage or injury from a falling drone.<\/p>\n
Jamming systems could disrupt the signals between drone and operator, but that could interfere with the many vital communication systems in use at an airport, said Marc Wagner, CEO of Switzerland-based Drone Detection Sys.<\/p>\n
Local laws might also prevent the use of such electronic countermeasures. Wagner said it is OK in Switzerland to use jamming systems, while Britain and the U.S. prohibit them.<\/p>\n
Dutch police experimented with using eagles to swoop down on drones and pluck them out of the sky over airports or large events, but ended the program last year, reportedly because the birds didn\u2019t always follow orders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only method is to find the pilot and to send someone to the pilot to stop him,\u201d Wagner said.<\/p>\n
That can be done with frequency spectrum analyzers that can triangulate the drone operator\u2019s position, but \u201cthe technology is new and it\u2019s not commonly used,\u201d said Wagner, whose company sells such gear and other counter-drone technology, including radar, jammers and powerful cameras.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s DJI Ltd., the world\u2019s biggest manufacturer of commercial drones, and some other makers use GPS-based \u201cgeofencing\u201d to automatically prevent drones from flying over airports and other sensitive locations, though the feature is easy to get around.<\/p>\n
DJI also introduced a feature last year that allows authorities to identify and monitor its drones. It wasn\u2019t clear what brand was used in the Gatwick incident.<\/p>\n
British authorities are planning to tighten regulations by requiring drone users to register, which could make it easier to identify the pilot. U.S. law already requires users to register their drones and get certified as pilots.<\/p>\n
But Wagner warned: \u201cIf somebody wants to do something really bad, he will never register.\u201d<\/p>\n
AP Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz in New York contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When drones buzzing over the runway forced London\u2019s busy Gatwick Airport to shut down, many travelers wondered why it\u2019s so hard for authorities to stop such intruders.<\/p>\n
Shoot them down, some said. Jam their signals, others suggested.<\/p>\n
Experts say it\u2019s not that easy.<\/p>\n
Britain and the U.S. prohibit drones from being flown too high or too close to airports and other aircraft. In Britain, it is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n
Still, there is little to stop a drone operator bent on disrupting air traffic, which British officials say was the case with the Gatwick incident that began Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
The number of close calls between drones and aircraft has increased dramatically in recent years as the popularity of drones has soared. Basic models for amateurs sell for under $100; larger, more sophisticated ones can cost hundreds more.<\/p>\n
Britain had 120 reports of close encounters in 2018, up from 93 last year. In 2014, there were six, according to the U.K. Airprox Board,..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}