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United States Pilots Association |
Avweb this week issued a story confirming both my concerns and Dr. Bob Worthington's, President of The New Mexico Pilots Association. Here are the facts.
On April 25th of this year an unmanned Predator Drone being flown from Libby AAF in Sierra Vista, AZ, crashed after a computer failure less than 400 feet from a populated area in Arizona. The aircraft was flying on a surveillance mission for the Border Patrol and was unarmed. The aircraft came down under no control and was being operated ostensibly to monitor illegal border crossings.
On April 5th a tilt rotor drone came down and crashed in Texas. In June of this year a three-pound drone operated by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, being demonstrated for the press, crashed and was destroyed.
The damage one of these objects can do to a small plane is immense. The Predator is the size of a Cessna 182. I have no information on the size of the tilt rotor, but the drone being flown by the LA sheriffs Department was the size of a model airplane and carries a small TV camera used to surveil rooftops from altitude. Any of us that have had an encounter of the worst kind with a small bird striking our windshield can well imagine the damage that could be done should one of these drones come into our cockpits.
Apparently the FAA has waked up to these hazards and is making some noise about gaining authority (which they already have) over flight paths, etc. The LA incident was in contradiction to the FAA who did not authorize the flight. Several pilots have reported an inability to be told by either Center or Flight Service of any ongoing UAV flights.
My suggestion is to write to Marion Blakey, Administrator of the FAA in Washington, and inquire why these flights are operating at all. I know we need all of the available technological assistance to protect our borders and help the police in difficult situations. What we don't need is a Rambo type mentality endangering the lives of civilian pilots and people on the ground.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association