Several weeks
ago an Illinois helicopter ag pilot was circling at 300 feet above a field he
was preparing to treat looking for obstructions, people or anything relevant
to his application when all of a sudden, an unmanned aerial vehicle airplane
made a climbing pass in close proximity directly in front of his helicopter.
The pilot reported to NAAA that he was fortunate that he was only traveling at
50 mph instead of at a fixed-wing speed of 120 mph or higher. The UAV was an
aerobatic Extra airplane with about a five- or six-foot wingspan. After the UAV
flew by it then proceeded to do aerobatics around the helicopter, then within
close proximity to the rotorcraft began formation flying. This created a
hazardous and uncomfortable situation for the pilot.
The
helicopter looked around until he spotted the “pilot” controlling the UAV and
landed near his back yard. The model was landed only after the ag pilot
insisted to the UAV operator that he do so for safety concerns.
The pilot
then notified the FAA FSDO of the incident and they sent the local police to
investigate. They located the UAV’s pilot and he readily admitted his
activities. The pilot admitted he had flown the model above 400 feet which is
the ceiling allowed for model aircraft. He said he didn’t like aircraft flying
over his property so he used the model to scare them off.
When they
learned the reason for the dangerous flying, the FSDO decided to seek prosecution
of the individual. The helicopter pilot has been asked to submit a statement of
the events that occurred. NAAA will keep a watch on the situation as it
develops.
In a
conversation with our contact at FAA Headquarters about the incident, he made
it clear that the FAA needs to know when incidents with UAVs occur. Otherwise
they are not able to determine the extent of the hazard to manned aircraft and
do not have a case to require safety measures for UAVs such as onboard lighting
and identification/tracking systems such as ADS-B Out. If you find yourself
involved in a near miss with a UAV, please file a report with your local FSDO,
local law enforcement and NAAA whenever an event occurs so it can be officially
documented.
In cases
where an intentional act is not involved, some pilots have been reluctant to
report the incident to either the FAA or local law enforcement to prevent enforcement
action taken in those cases. Although laws and procedures vary from state to
state, NAAA contacted a sheriff to see if his office was required to seek
prosecution whenever a report is filed. In his jurisdiction, an informational
report can be filed with no follow-up action required. NAAA can then use this
report to compile information on incidents that may occur. An additional
benefit to filing the report is that if that person’s offenses continue to
occur, a history has been created for possible prosecution should a subsequent
incident occur.
