Jet pilots demand tougher drone laws

PILOTS of passenger jets last night called for tougher regulation of drones after new figures revealed a dramatic surge in police incidents sparked by the gadgets.

Officers revealed they recorded 3,456 incidents last year, almost triple the 2015 figure of 1,237.

In addition to near-misses with aircraft, other incidents have involved drones being used to fly drugs and phones into prisons and burglars using them to scout properties.

The British Airline Pilots Association said users who fly dangerously close to passenger jets should be charged with endangering an aircraft, which carries a maximum five-year jail sentence.

Police incidents have risen year-onyear in most areas and in some cases the tallies soared from only a handful to three-figure totals.

The figures come just days after it emerged a passenger jet had a nearmiss with a drone as it prepared to land at Heathrow Airport.

Steve Landells, BALPA Flight Safety Specialist, said: “Drones can be great fun and BALPA doesn’t believe they should be banned for public use. However, after a significant increase in near-misses with aircraft last year, it seems not everyone either knows or cares about the rules.

“While we take no issue with people who fly their drones in a safe and sensible manner, some people who fly them near airports or densely populated areas are behaving dangerously.

“If the user has endangered an aircraft, we would like to see the culprit prosecuted – endangering an aircraft has a maximum sentence of five years in prison.”

Sussex Police recorded the highest number of drone-related incidents last year, with 240, followed by Greater Manchester at 225.

Renate Samson, chief executive of Big Brother Watch, said: “You don’t know who is flying it, you don’t know if it is taking pictures, and you don’t know where to complain.

“There is certainly an urgent need for drones to be regulated.”