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Original poster

^THE^ Drone

117 replies

cjt110 · 20/12/2018 15:24

Why the fuck has it taken 18 hours to decide to shoot the fucking thing down?

"With pressure increasing to find the perpetrator, Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw, the airport's policing commander, said: 'Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears; when we look to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears. I'm absolutely convinced it's a deliberate act to disrupt Gatwick Airport'."

Clearly a deliberate act. Just shoot the fucking thing down

Angry
OP posts:
Almondio · 20/12/2018 22:44

There's footage online of the catastrophic damage a drone can do to an aircraft. Imagine if it got into an engine? Same with birds, incredibly dangerous around airports.

I can't understand how someone can be monitoring comms to know when to fly the drone and when to ground it...inside job? And how far is the range on remote controlled drones? Can't be a massive range, the culprit must be near or in the airport. In a hotel? A car park? It's intriguing but ultimately very worrying.

PoutySprout · 20/12/2018 22:50

And how far is the range on remote controlled drones? Can't be a massive range, the culprit must be near or in the airport.

With a professional drone they could be miles away from it.

snowie01 · 20/12/2018 23:00

This is being done on purpose. Probably to make drones illegal to purchase. So this can't happen again. I don't know. It's ridiculous though. Really feel for the travellers.

Dirtygirtyisthirty · 20/12/2018 23:19

@MaryPoppinsPenguins

www.businessinsider.com/video-drone-damage-plane-amid-gatwick-airport-closure-2018-12?r=UK&IR=T

Remember that aeroplanes are made from thin lightweight aluminium......

MalcolmTuckerIsMyHERO · 20/12/2018 23:21

I feel really uneasy about thousands of people trapped in one place.... I really hope this isnt part of a bigger terrorist plan.... I know I sound like a nutter but my god it doesn't bear thinking about

ISawSassyKissingSantaClaus · 20/12/2018 23:31

Had similar thoughts Malcolm and also conversely that large police/army presence diverted outside of central London... but hopefully nothing else is gonna happen....

Shepherdspieisminging · 20/12/2018 23:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

canigetaliein · 20/12/2018 23:46

I’m sure it’s crossed the authorities minds that they have loads of “sitting ducks” so to speak so hopefully they are on top of that.

NotCitrus · 20/12/2018 23:56

Someone pointed out elsewhere they don't need to monitor comms etc to tell a runway's trying to reopen - the movement of trucks etc is easy to see with binoculars even before a great big 747 starts moving.

AornisHades · 21/12/2018 00:14

I think it's going to be very difficult to find them. There are roads and car parks around the airport. You only have to send a drone up until it's seen and then bring it back. That makes it hard to get a fix on it. They've got plenty of time to recharge before a quick flight that closes the airport for hours.
It's surely gone too far for a pressure group.

TheLittlestLightOnTheTree · 21/12/2018 00:22

Why Gatwick and not Heathrow?

Punto1 · 21/12/2018 00:28

Criminals tend to operate in locations familiar to them, so they may be local to Gatwick watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds so feel free to ignore me lol

Punto1 · 21/12/2018 00:29

Is the drone still up and about?

Borntobeamum · 21/12/2018 00:32

I'm delayed in USA due to this bloody flying twat!

JamesBondFilm · 21/12/2018 00:34

Something isn't right here.

TheLittlestLightOnTheTree · 21/12/2018 00:35

Something's wrong.... no planes at Heathrow on the radar app either! Must be a glitch but uk airspace seems quiet tonight

costacoffeecup · 21/12/2018 00:36

@Shepherdspieisminging I'm not sure concerned men in suits means anything sinister. The whole airport is shut down so it's a pretty big deal anyway, presumably there'd be some pretty serious people around (or it could be airport management!) Unless its the MIB....

costacoffeecup · 21/12/2018 00:42

Does seem interesting there's nothing leaving from Heathrow. They do get quieter at night because of restricted flying times but that's supposed to have been cancelled tonight so planes can get back to where they need to be.

calpop · 21/12/2018 00:43

Im also getting conspiracy/distraction vibes. I arrived at Gatwick last night at 8.16. DP was picking me up and I got in the car at 8.53 (from whatsapp conversations). The reason it took me that long (longer than normal) to get through (hand luggage only) was that the public areas after clearing customs were rammed with police - police in large clumps with guns and dogs. I particularly noted it as there were multiple dogs and one barked at me. Have never seen that much police presence at an airport - apart from when I was at LHR about 10y ago when there was a terror threat.

This seems suspicious to me given the timing - about 15mins before the first drone sighting was reported to be at 9pm.

calpop · 21/12/2018 00:45

Also, I live about 10mins from Gatwick and at about 8.30pm I clearly heard a plane go past.

hmmhohmmm · 21/12/2018 00:46

I'm convinced now that actually the police are flying the drone themselves if it exists

And it's being done to prevent a much larger terror attack they can't stop otherwise

brizzledrizzle · 21/12/2018 00:50

If planes are stuck overseas, which they undoubtedly are, they aren't going to have the planes where they need them. A plane was meant to do, say Paris to Gatwick then Gatwick to Paris and Paris to Heathrow but is stuck in Gatwick so they don't have a plane to fly out of Heathrow.

papayasareyum · 21/12/2018 00:55

impending terror attack, teenagers messing about with drones, aliens?

Springmachine · 21/12/2018 01:01

Initially when I heard the news Thursday morning I assumed it was teenagers mucking about, but it all seems so serious and has a sinister vibe to it. Something isn't adding up

Springmachine · 21/12/2018 01:06

Heathrow now has IT failure

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