Drone Near Miss
Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 2:56 pm
Well, I'll share this near miss on this forum because I think everyone needs to be aware drone pilots and manned aircraft alike, I also turned in a NASA report on it which basically outlines the same thing so here goes:
I am a licensed Part 107 drone pilot and the company I work for uses them to collect aerial photographs of timber harvesting areas and pine plantations for evaluation of health and vigor. What used to take a guy on the ground 3-4 hours can now be done in less than 20 minutes. I had filed a UAS operating area report with Flight Services in an effort to forewarn air traffic (it was class G airspace) I would be operating in the area, the altitude I would be using and the exact times of operation (my reported times are generally 1 hour in duration, I see some that are days, more on that later) and I file 24 hours in advance. I also had a visual observer and a handheld aviation radio tuned to 122.9. The drone was flying a standard grid pattern at 375' AGL. I was facing south looking at the drone and the visual observer was facing north in my blind spot. The drone was 692' from my position heading north when the visual observer yelled out an aircraft sighting, I turned to look at about the time a Cessna 172 cleared the treetops at approximately the same altitude and heading on a collision course (or darn close). Based on the GPS in the drone and an aerial photo the initial sighting was .35 miles away at roughly 120-130 knots closure, best I calculated: 7-10 seconds to react. We could not see or hear the aircraft before this because it was obscured by trees and flying super low. I guess my initial response (according to the visual observer) was "Owe S#^!" I then disengaged the autopilot and tried to maneuver at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to what I thought was the Cessna's course and rapidly descend. It was plainly apparent that it was going to be close so in an effort to speed the decent I cut the engines and let the drone fall. Needless to say I made a pretty hard landing, but avoided the Cessna. Based on my calculations and the GPS course I missed the Cessna by about 200' laterally, way too close for comfort. The Cessna never took any evasive action, I don't think he/she saw me.
As a student pilot and a commercial drone pilot this scared the crap out of me. After thinking about it I believe that the Cessna was probably flying a pipeline in the area which would account for his altitude and a slight bank angle on the aircraft, also it would explain why he/she probably did not even see the drone, looking at a pipeline markers you really have eyes on the ground as much as possible (I've flown as an observer on a few of those so I understand the multitasking of the pilot involved).
So if your still reading here is my take away points:
1. Drones have become more prevalent in the airspace, not every operator has a license or understands airspace restrictions. We need a better way to track locations and altitudes, maybe ADS-B will solve some of this, we just looked into a mini version for our drone that looks promising.
2. Drone pilots need to give realistic reports to Flight Services, exact times, altitudes, etc. A general "I'll be out there for three days 24 hours a day flying around a 16 square mile radius is garbage information that is practically useless.
3. As pilots (myself included) we need to check with Flight Services and seriously pay attention to NOTAM's and UAS operating area warnings. UAS areas are also available for viewing in Skyvector or on 1800WXbrief.com.
4. See and avoid worked this time, maybe one day one of us or myself flying an aircraft won't be as lucky, I'd hate to hit a drone, depending on the model under Part 107 they can weigh up to 55 lbs, that's a lot of weight and inertia for a piece of Plexiglas to take, my guess is a very bad outcome for everyone involved.
I am a licensed Part 107 drone pilot and the company I work for uses them to collect aerial photographs of timber harvesting areas and pine plantations for evaluation of health and vigor. What used to take a guy on the ground 3-4 hours can now be done in less than 20 minutes. I had filed a UAS operating area report with Flight Services in an effort to forewarn air traffic (it was class G airspace) I would be operating in the area, the altitude I would be using and the exact times of operation (my reported times are generally 1 hour in duration, I see some that are days, more on that later) and I file 24 hours in advance. I also had a visual observer and a handheld aviation radio tuned to 122.9. The drone was flying a standard grid pattern at 375' AGL. I was facing south looking at the drone and the visual observer was facing north in my blind spot. The drone was 692' from my position heading north when the visual observer yelled out an aircraft sighting, I turned to look at about the time a Cessna 172 cleared the treetops at approximately the same altitude and heading on a collision course (or darn close). Based on the GPS in the drone and an aerial photo the initial sighting was .35 miles away at roughly 120-130 knots closure, best I calculated: 7-10 seconds to react. We could not see or hear the aircraft before this because it was obscured by trees and flying super low. I guess my initial response (according to the visual observer) was "Owe S#^!" I then disengaged the autopilot and tried to maneuver at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to what I thought was the Cessna's course and rapidly descend. It was plainly apparent that it was going to be close so in an effort to speed the decent I cut the engines and let the drone fall. Needless to say I made a pretty hard landing, but avoided the Cessna. Based on my calculations and the GPS course I missed the Cessna by about 200' laterally, way too close for comfort. The Cessna never took any evasive action, I don't think he/she saw me.
As a student pilot and a commercial drone pilot this scared the crap out of me. After thinking about it I believe that the Cessna was probably flying a pipeline in the area which would account for his altitude and a slight bank angle on the aircraft, also it would explain why he/she probably did not even see the drone, looking at a pipeline markers you really have eyes on the ground as much as possible (I've flown as an observer on a few of those so I understand the multitasking of the pilot involved).
So if your still reading here is my take away points:
1. Drones have become more prevalent in the airspace, not every operator has a license or understands airspace restrictions. We need a better way to track locations and altitudes, maybe ADS-B will solve some of this, we just looked into a mini version for our drone that looks promising.
2. Drone pilots need to give realistic reports to Flight Services, exact times, altitudes, etc. A general "I'll be out there for three days 24 hours a day flying around a 16 square mile radius is garbage information that is practically useless.
3. As pilots (myself included) we need to check with Flight Services and seriously pay attention to NOTAM's and UAS operating area warnings. UAS areas are also available for viewing in Skyvector or on 1800WXbrief.com.
4. See and avoid worked this time, maybe one day one of us or myself flying an aircraft won't be as lucky, I'd hate to hit a drone, depending on the model under Part 107 they can weigh up to 55 lbs, that's a lot of weight and inertia for a piece of Plexiglas to take, my guess is a very bad outcome for everyone involved.