Drone regs call follows near miss with rescue helicopter

A dangerously close call for a rescue helicopter with a drone in Carrara, Australia, has caused UAV pilot training organisation UAVair to call for tighter regulations on the remotely controlled aircraft.

On 6 July, a Westpac Lifesaver rescue helicopter was flying at 60 m (200 ft) on a routine patrol when the pilot saw the drone in front of him. Luckily, he managed to dodge the drone and avoid collision. Westpac Lifesaver’s safety manager David O’Brian believes that in a ‘worst case scenario’ a drone could bring a helicopter down, although he concedes that ‘most likely the helicopter would be grounded for a couple of days for maintenance’.

Chief executive of drone training company UAVair Ashley Cox, said he was angry about the near collision, and that unregulated pilots are ruining the industry. He asserted that ‘drones are tools not toys’, before adding that pilots should have to do some form of compulsory training ‘even if it’s just an online course, or something along those lines, so that they have respect for what they’re doing and know they’re not toys’.