Dial 111 to report dangerous drones

MEMBERS of the public who believe they are in danger from a drone are now being advised to dial 111.

The Civil Aviation Authority yesterday updated its website to include information about reporting ‘‘dangerous drone activity’’.

The authority’s manager of corporate communications Mike Richards confirmed to the Otago Daily

Times yesterday the move was a response to rising concerns about drone safety.

Last week, Dunedin mother Jodie Smither complained to the authority after she said her children were filmed by a drone while playing in their backyard.

She saw a ‘‘creamycoloured thing that looked like a spider’’ hovering about a metre above her backyard.

As soon as she appeared the drone flew off, leaving her children ‘‘terrified’’.

Advice to the public from the authority at that stage did not include dialling 111.

Mr Richards said the authority’s website had also been updated to

allow for the public to more easily report ‘‘other safety or security concerns’’.

The website asks for details such as the date, time and location of the event, and any identifying details of the drone operator, such as their name, address, car registration plate number, a photograph or detailed description of the person flying the drone.

‘‘The authority is limited in the

action it can take when the identity of the drone operator is unable to be established,’’ the authority says on its website.

The website also now carries advice on how to fly drones safely.

It begins by saying: ‘‘If you are operating a drone, you are a pilot and therefore have a shared responsibility for the safety and security of everyone.’’

Drone operators must, for

instance, fly their machines only in daylight, be able to see the drone with their own eyes, fly no higher than 120m, avoid flying over people that have not given consent, know about airspace restrictions and fly no closer than 4km from uncontrolled aerodromes.

They must also obtain consents from landowners and ‘‘administering authorities’’.