A drone operation inside a Flight Restriction Zone over a construction site without permission to operate from Air Traffic Control.
What Happened: A drone was spotted by the construction site security team, flying and hovering over the construction site, which is located within 500m of an airport. The drone was reported to the site management team. The site management team contacted their drone operator company to check if they were operating. On this occasion their drone operator was not flying on the day.
Actions: The contracted drone company contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) to check if there was another drone operator in the area and to make them aware there was a drone operating close to their runway. ATC confirmed no drone operators had permission to fly in their Flight Restriction Zone (FRZ) on that day and informed the police. The CAA were also informed of the incident.
Prevention:
- Use a drone operator with full CAA Authorisation
- Use a drone operator with full annual insurance
- Check the drone operators credentials
- Understand the area and airspace your project is located in
- Reach out and seek advice from a drone professional
- Ensure pre-flight applications are submitted to ATC and approval is received prior to operations.
Other useful tips: