Brussels, 27/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 23 July, the European Cockpit Association (ECA) published an orientation document to help reduce the possibility of collisions taking place between civilian or “open category” drones and aircraft.
The paper focuses on open category drones as defined in the new regulation presented last March by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Drones in this category fly below a height of 150m and should not be more than 500m away from the operator. The European agency believes that they only represent a minor danger. Supervision of these kinds of drones is carried out at a national level and using them does not require any prior authorisation by the aeronautical authorities (see EUROPE 11275).
The ECA has the task of helping to develop an airspace that is as safe as possible and it believes that these kinds of drones require an appropriate framework. It has drawn up a list of restrictive measures it believes necessary: - Maximum achievable distance from pilot of less than 500m horizontally and 50m in height (according to the “visual line of sight” principle); auto avoidance of restricted areas, geo-fencing test; auto recovery in the event of loss of control; weight limited to 500g; maximum speed to allow control, recognition and limit kinetic energy; colour, visibility and lighting standards to allow visual recognition and avoidance; marking and registration of the drone to allow tracing of pilot/operator.
The authors of the paper also highlight the obligation of introducing mandatory training for future drone pilots and for when operations are exclusively recreational. The ECA also wants mandatory insurance, non-punitive safety reporting obligations, and stricter rules for commercial operations.
Open category drones represent an increasingly serious problem for aviation safety. Last week, two collisions between drones and aircraft were only just avoided (see EUROPE 11364). The subject will be debated over the next few months, given that the Commission intends to submit a legislative proposal on open category drones by the end of 2015. (Pascal Hansens)