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NYT: 1 Broken Drone, No Video, 2 Suspects Released: Gatwick Episode Doesn’t Add Up
Britain’s second-busiest airport stalled for 36 hours. About 1,000 flights diverted or canceled. Around 140,000 passengers inconvenienced at the height of holiday travels. One broken drone recovered, and a British couple detained and then released over the weekend without being charged. (www.nytimes.com) More...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Where are the Spitfires when we need them???
One phantom drone sighting and a major airport shuts down and thousands of people are inconvenienced...a flock of geese or pelicans are sighted and pilots get a casual bird hazard warning. If I had to choose between hitting a flimsy drone and a flock of very solid birds I think I would choose the drone ... go figure!
So much is wrong with your post. 1. There was not just one sighting (I think there were about 60 sightings over short periods of time). 2. Birds have a self-preservation instinct that causes them to try to get out of the way of an airplane, so strike risks are lowered. 3. Birds are not make of metals and hard plastics. They are made of meat and very thin, hollow and light bones, much less hazardous than a 'flimsy' drone. I don't think a bird would do what this 'flimsy' drone did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH0V7kp-xg0
Why not just shoot them down with a rifle? They are trespassing.
A) It's an incredibly difficult shot to make with a rifle, B) bullets shot in the air have a nasty habit of coming back down and killing or injuring people.
It's the UK. They took everyone's rifles.