Warning for ‘dangerous’ drone operators

A drone flight, thought to be operated by a novice, recently held up commercial flights to Marlborough Airport.

Marlborough Airport Operations and Safety Manager Steve Holtum said the drone flight, which lasted a matter of minutes, caused 20 minutes of delays to three passenger aircraft on Sunday, June 22.

“Around 6.15pm the airport security reported seeing a drone’s flashing lights over the highway to the north-east of the airport, and we went through our usual processes of alerting the tower, Police and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – as did the affected airlines.

“It’s good for us to know that police responded to this, because while this is a harmless case, it did cause very expensive circling delays for both airlines. “It’s so dangerous when we don’t know any information or intentions and New Zealand’s CAA are very aggressive around airspace safety.”

“We have been notified about a drone seen around Marlborough Airport, but at this stage haven’t been able to identify the person who was flying the drone”, said a CAA spokesperson.

“Aerodromes are required to take appropriate action in situations where unsafe or potentially unsafe conditions have been identified, which can include observed RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) activity.

“CAA may take further action should more information be provided to us.” Steve thinks the drone operator was a novice due to how incorrect the short flight was.

“Commercial or knowledgeable operators will know personal drone flights need to be done in daytime with line-of-sight vision of the craft, and any within 4km of an airport need to be done by commercial operators with RPA qualifications and requested through the Airshare app.

“The CAA regulations part 101 and 102, around rules and certifications, are what need to be followed because our tower knows where they are, what their intentions are and so can work in together for safe flying for everyone.”

A New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson added the “Base Woodbourne security guard force spotted a drone operating first over the base and later near the airport flight path. “The tower was notified, and the drone was also reported to NZ Police, who are investigating.”