Drone blamed for plane crash
Hanging upside down in a Waihi cornfield with blood in his eyes, pilot Rod Vaughan did not have time to wonder what his aircraft had hit before crash landing.
Now his wounds are healing, he is certain it was a drone.
If he is correct, it will be the first time a drone has taken down an aircraft in New Zealand but there have been several reported nearmisses.
Recently a drone came within 5 metres of an incoming 777-200 plane approaching Auckland, putting 278 passengers at risk.
Vaughan, a former investigative journalist who was once punched by Sir Bob Jones, was out enjoying a flight in an Aeroprakt Foxbat with his son on Wednesday afternoon when disaster struck.
‘‘Without any warning a tornado of air was just racing inside the cockpit,’’ he said.
The force of the impact, and pressure of the wind, dislodged the two doors which dangled behind the aircraft still tethered to the airframe.
‘‘I immediately looked to get the plane on the ground.
‘‘We were about 1600 to 1700 feet at the time and we came down in about 30 seconds.’’
Vaughan aimed the stricken aircraft at a cleared corn paddock. ‘‘There was a hedge that I think I clipped on the way,’’ he said.
The bumpy paddock put too much pressure on the front wheel which buckled, causing the plane to flip 180 degrees.
Vaughan and his son were able to walk away from the crash but not without injury.
His son was able to brace himself during the crash so suffered only bruising from the seatbelt.
Vaughan’s head was cut in the crash.
‘‘We got ourselves out and called for help,’’ he said.
‘‘We could have been killed.’’ Vaughan said the fact the window imploded in the manner it did left him with three theories.
‘‘One would be a bird strike but we didn’t see any bird activity in the area,’’ he said. ‘‘The second would be a high velocity rifle shot but I think we can rule that out. Another option is a drone.’’
Vaughan said he hoped the Civil Aviation Authority thoroughly investigated the incident but he admitted the truth might never come out.
‘‘I don’t think someone is going to put their hand up and say: I am missing a drone and it was last seen flying near your aircraft.’’
Vaughan said spotting a drone while flying was nearly impossible and the prevalence of drones was putting amateur airmen at risk.
‘‘Kids can buy drones for $90 at the Warehouse,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s hard enough to spot a plane in the air which is why we rely on radio reports but drone operators are not using radios.’’
The CAA said it was investigating and would comment when more information came to hand.
President of the Airline Pilots Association Tim Robinson said he was alarmed at the number of near misses involving drones and he was also calling for greater regulation.
‘‘There’s been a growth in the sale of drones recently which is why there needs to be tighter regulation.’’
Robinson said it was time New Zealand fell in line with other countries.
‘‘Registration of drones over 250g is already in place in the United States and Australia.
‘‘It’s easy in the United States where they have an online registration.’’
Robinson thought fixing the problem would require a multi-faceted approach but saw the onus of understanding regulations as falling on the person flying the drone.