Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
Urgent warnings have been issued to drone operators in Alice Springs, after airport management noticed a spike in the number of drones being flown dangerously close to aircraft.
Key points:
Since June, more than 50 unauthorised drones have been detected within the 5.5-kilometre boundary of the airport.
“We have the technology now to track drones around our airport,” Alice Springs airport general manager, Dave Batic, said.
Airport management suspected the drone operators were attempting to take pictures or video footage of the more than 130 planes in storage next to the airport.
“No doubt it’s created a lot of interest — not just within the community but with tourists as well,” Mr Batic said.
“We do suspect that the facility is creating a lot of interest and we do want to remind the community that when flying drones around the airport, there’s a safety issue.
Plane storage at capacity
The concerns were raised as the number of planes stored at the Asia Pacific Airline Storage (APAS) facility, adjacent to the airport, reaches capacity.
Currently, the APAS facility is home to more than 130 unused aeroplanes, with the next stage, beginning this week, set to boost capacity to more than 200.
APAS managing director Tom Vincent said deliveries of more planes have been locked in throughout 2021.
The facility has seen its capacity dramatically increase since the coronavirus pandemic forced airlines across the world to ground fleets.
Alice Springs’ dry climate makes the Red Centre the perfect place for long-term plane storage, with the lack of humidity negating the risk of moisture damage to the aircraft.
‘Catastrophic’ collision risk
But as spectacular as the sight is, flying drones within 5.5km of the airport is illegal and dangerous.
“It is a serious problem because if there were to be a mid-air collision between an aircraft and a drone, the consequences could be catastrophic,” said Peter Gibson, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Mr Gibson said the biggest risk is that a drone could be sucked into the engine of an aeroplane and make controlling the aircraft difficult.
“We don’t see many drones visually, although occasionally a pilot will report seeing a drone — and that’s the issue, the safety aspect of drones and airports,” Mr Batic said.
Images appearing online have caught the attention of airport management, with questions raised about where the images have come from and whether they were taken legally.
“We wonder whether they’re approved or not approved images of Alice Springs airport and that’s the difficulty with managing this type of technology,” Mr Batic said.
“We will be putting up signs, roadside signs to remind the public as to where the boundary is.”
Social media monitored for evidence
CASA said social media and online forums have been monitored, warning that pictures from illegal drone activity could be used in a prosecution.
“We can find stuff and indeed people send us links to material,” Mr Gibson said.
Penalties for illegal drone usage could be up to $11,000 or two years in prison.
