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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder about a few things with the LGW drone attack

868 replies

badlydrawnperson · 20/12/2018 11:32

Before I get flamed (and not that anyone will resist flaming if they want to anyway). I know-

-It's not that easy
-Safety First
-People are doing their best

But I can't help wondering and idly speculating about why -

We apparently don't have any counter measures for this.
It can go on so long
We aren't seeing any News footage of the drone(s)

I am 100% NOT a conspiracy theorist but I am very curious about exactly what is going on.

OP posts:
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Original poster
badlydrawnperson · 20/12/2018 12:13

I haven't seen a photo but

I don't think anyone has - which is a little odd in a digital age.

OP posts:
kirsty75005 · 20/12/2018 12:13

It's not that hard to imagine scenarios where despite a lack of direct violence infrastructure disruption could lead to someone being hurt or killed.

There have been several people in France killed in car accidents due to traffic jams caused by a non-violent protest. In this case the protestors clearly didn't want that outcome so I wouldn't call it an attack, but it illustrates that the divide between violence and non-violence is not as straightforward as it might seem.

LonelyandTiredandLow · 20/12/2018 12:14

Older they use them for military attacks all oer the world. Some guy sitting at a desk in US can take out tanks in Syria for e.g. - talking yes I wondered about the electric with anti drone tech. Not near my plane you don't!

brizzledrizzle · 20/12/2018 12:14

I suspect it’s environmental protestors.

If it is then it's particularly dim ones who are causing planes to do extra miles to the airport they are diverted to and then people to do extra miles back to their original airport to retrieve their cars and then extra flights to get the aeroplanes in the right place. The ones that are cancelled have arguably saved some aviation fuel but they are still in the wrong place and will need to fly to where they should be - after taking home people who are stuck abroad because of the sheer number of flights from Europe that have been cancelled.

Not sure how you could stop it. Shoot them down?

They are worried about stray bullets.

Also why are they such a big problem? Airports don't get shut because of a couple of geese near the runway and these aren't any bigger afaik.

Geese don't have lithium ion batteries and it's unlikely that a goose could be stuffed full of explosives and still fly. I wouldn't want to be on a plane with an incendiary (the battery) going into the engine on a drone.

recently · 20/12/2018 12:17

Also why are they such a big problem? Airports don't get shut because of a couple of geese near the runway and these aren't any bigger afaik.

If drones are being flown in a no-fly zone it has to be assumed that the pilot is trying to disrupt flights, possibly by flying into them. A goose won't deliberately be trying to fly into an aircraft.

nickiredcar · 20/12/2018 12:18

Has it been said how many drones it is?

Can't they trace where they are flying from? Or have they put loads in random places then controlling them from wherever and getting them up there?

usernamerisnotavailable · 20/12/2018 12:20

I'm someone affected by this as DH doe to fly home into GATWICK this evening after working away for a year. To say we have been counting down the days with the DCs would be an understatement. Looks like he won't be back tonight. We are gutted.

BUT they don't close airports without fucking good reasons. If a drone flew into an airliner it could cause catastrophic damage that could result in death. I am glad they are taking all precautions and just hope they catch these fucking cunts who have deliberately targeted people travelling for Christmas.

DadJoke · 20/12/2018 12:21

There are a number of nonballistic techniques for taking down drones. I am surprised Gatwick doesn't have them on hand.

Original poster
badlydrawnperson · 20/12/2018 12:21

BBC Radio news has just reported the Police are saying they can only deal with this by finding the drone operators.

That's not going to be easy is it?

OP posts:
ginghamstarfish · 20/12/2018 12:22

I still don't see why they can't be shot down over the airfield - explosive or not, surely it's better to end it and destroy them. Could they even carry enough explosive etc to cause much of a problem if shot while in the air? Weird how there has been no mention of this in the news, surely most of us are thinking the same?

brizzledrizzle · 20/12/2018 12:22

BBC Radio news has just reported the Police are saying they can only deal with this by finding the drone operators.That's not going to be easy is it?

No. However they are hardly going to say 'Oh we've got this bit of technology which will do this to disable the drones' if they have indeed got it.

MotherOfATeenApprenticeActuary · 20/12/2018 12:24

There are drones and there are drones here are the ones they fly around here, not always popular with the locals

To wonder about a few things with the LGW drone attack
AlderneyGirl · 20/12/2018 12:24

This is certainly a pre-planned attack on our aviation industry, it would seem their intention is to cause as much disruption as possible creating a significant financial loss to the airlines and airport involved as well as the country in general.

One of the reasons for a lack of pictures etc is down to the fact that this is being carried out by people who are obviously experienced in drone handling.

The drone appeared at approx 2100 last night and has disappeared and reappeared several times making it much harder to pin them down.

My thought is that they could be moving location on land therefore sending the drone up from different locations again making them much harder to be caught.

Absolute fucking wankers whoever is doing this but I highly doubt their aim is to cause loss of live otherwise they would have flown one into an aircraft on arrival last night.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that drones are too hard to control under current legislation. I would like to see the equivalent of an aircraft transponder being made compulsory on all drones.

Minniemagoo · 20/12/2018 12:26

Also why are they such a big problem? Airports don't get shut because of a couple of geese near the runway and these aren't any bigger afaik

The damage is not comparable. A drone hitting the leading edge of the wing has in tests gone through the skin into the fuel tanks. As previously mentioned apart from possible incendiary devices a spark could blow the wing off.

This is obviously a deliberate attempt to disrupt flights at a busy season and not being done by an amateur. This is well thought out, drones appearing and disappearing, high quality drones etc.

Hope they find the person(s) responsible and prosecute them to the full.

Lockheart · 20/12/2018 12:28

Presumably @ginghamstarfish because if they do think that there are explosives and they're planning on trying to neutralise them somehow, broadcasting this fact on national TV and tipping off the perpetrators would be a bloody stupid thing to do.

@nickiredcar - you're assuming there that they're being flown from somewhere within the UK. With technology nowadays, drones can be controlled from halfway around the world, making the pilots supremely difficult to trace.

StealthPolarBear · 20/12/2018 12:31

"nickiredcar - you're assuming there that they're being flown from somewhere within the UK. With technology nowadays, drones can be controlled from halfway around the world, making the pilots supremely difficult to trace."
Shock
I had no idea. So it's not some guy in a coat and hat standing at the boundary? Clearly I assumed these were just a step up from remote control planes. Don't laugh. That is really worrying.

Ta1kinpeace · 20/12/2018 12:31

dadjoke
There are a number of nonballistic techniques for taking down drones
such as ?

People really do not seem to understand what the drones do on this thread .....
It has not been in the air the whole time FFS
It will be a small commercial (around £1000) quadcopter with a flying time of around half an hour and battery swap time of less than a minute.
The controller will be in a car somewhere within a mile of Gatwick and moving around between each launch.
Unless the police see it coming in to land they do not have a hope in hell of tracing it
and as the speeds of the things are such that even trained eagles have a problem taking them out (and a plane hitting and eagle would be VVVVV bad) its a bit of a nightmare.

The UK was much too lax about allowing drones
the USA and the rest of the EU have been much stricter
chickens coming home to roost

nickiredcar · 20/12/2018 12:32

I've always thought with drone technology advancements it could really affect air travel.

That and surface to air missile's. Horrifying that one was shot down!

Least all are safe but this seems like the start of something

Haworthia · 20/12/2018 12:32

Also, if flocks of birds are hanging out near runways they aren’t doing so with nefarious intentions. If you see a drone doing the same you must assume the intent is to disrupt at best or bring down an airliner at worst.

nickiredcar · 20/12/2018 12:34

How is the us much stricker? Casey neistant is one of the biggest YouTubers and he's flown drones in busy Manhattan and even lost control of some that just flew away. So many helicopters and planes in that small area.

StealthPolarBear · 20/12/2018 12:35

Surface to air missiles aren't new though. But I suspect they're a hell of a lot cheaper than the used to be.

Ta1kinpeace · 20/12/2018 12:35

lockheart
With technology nowadays, drones can be controlled from halfway around the world, making the pilots supremely difficult to trace.
stop being melodramatic
its not a military type drone - for a start they move slowly and stay up for a long time
and cost a ferkin fortune

Lockheart · 20/12/2018 12:38

@Ta1kinpeace - it's not melodrama, it's fact. The technology exists which means drones can be flown by someone a great distance away. Whether that's happening here, I don't know. But it's not impossible.

Ta1kinpeace · 20/12/2018 12:42

Lockheart
I am well aware of military drone technology.
Unlike most on this thread I have a current BMFA membership in the house and more than one drone in the shed.

Long distance drones for non military use are absolutely illegal in the UK, the USA and the EU.
All of the CAA and FAA licencing to manufacturers requires "line of sight" even for first person view.

There is no evidence at all of military drone technology getting out of government hands.
Even ISIS used £300 quadcopters for their attacks.

Ta1kinpeace · 20/12/2018 12:43

BBC story now updated to remove the word "attack"