Thu, Mar 22, 2018
MH-65 Aircrew Says They Took Evasive Action To Miss Impacting The UAV
A Coast Guard aircrew was 300 feet in the air conducting training when they had a near-miss collision with a recreational drone in the vicinity of Fairchild International Airport (KCLM) northwest of Seattle, WA on Saturday.
The MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles was conducting low-level training near the airport when the crew maneuvered to miss what they thought was a bird. The object ended up being a drone and the aircrew estimated the near miss at only 50 feet, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release.
Drone operators must provide advanced notification to airports or airport traffic control to fly drones within five miles of an airport. Operators must yield right of way to manned aircraft and keep their drones in line of site at all times.
It was confirmed by the Fairchild International Airport manager that this drone had not been authorized or requested by the operator to fly within the five-mile radius, as is required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Drone operators who are unaware or complacent of existing FAA regulations pose a significant safety threat to aircrews and risk serious damage to the aircraft,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brent Schmadeke, operations officer at Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles. “With the increasing popularity of commercial model aircraft, we strongly encourage operators to familiarize themselves with operating standards set forth by the FAA.”
There are different FAA drone regulations between commercial use and recreational use, but ALL owners must be aware of those regulations before operating their drones.
Washington has approximately 805 registered drones, according to the news release.
(Source: USCG news release)
More News
The Industry Continues to be Rocked By Some Questionable Operations Recent investigations and a great deal of data has resulted in ANN’s SportPlane Resource Guide’s rep>[...]
Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) An airport lighting facility providing vertical visual approach slope guidance to aircraft during approach to landing by radiating a directio>[...]
Airport Marking Aids Markings used on runway and taxiway surfaces to identify a specific runway, a runway threshold, a centerline, a hold line, etc. A runway should be marked in ac>[...]
Aero Linx: The Skyhawk Association The Skyhawk Association is a non-profit organization founded by former Skyhawk Pilots which is open to anyone with an affinity for the A-4 Skyhaw>[...]