Air Traffic priorities !

Last weeks bushfires in the Blue Mountains were the forerunner of a long, hot summer yet to come,  and both the Rural Fire services and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority ( CASA ) are worried that one of our best methods of fighting fires will face restrictions in future,

Water bombing can be the deciding issue between saving or losing life and property when a fire is out of control.   Big numbers of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters work in hazardous conditions, buffeted by fierce thermal updraughts and with limited vision due to smoke.  CASA has the job of routing them safely between water pickup points and the drop zones.

During last weeks fires, unauthorized drones entered the fire areas and CASA knows that at least one drone shared air space with the bomber fleet because the pictures it took were shown on U-Tube.  Another drone was spotted over the Springwood fire.   CASA has absolutely no control over drone movements and there is no option other than to cease water bombing until the area is clear.

The expectation is that drones in the hands of the public can only rise sharply in the years ahead.  Already, the electronics stores are offering small radio controlled planes and helicopters as toys and these are increasing in size with added models.   It is inevitable that that they will be eagerly seized upon by camera buffs - and they will quickly become a tool of the Paparazzi.

There is big money to be made by getting that "picture of a lifetime " and the Paparazzi are well known risk takers.  If drones become just another " tool of trade " for them we can expect safety regulations to be ignored - and that will deliver an unacceptable risk to the water bombing people.

A collision between a drone and a plane could be catastrophic.  It is essential that the air space above a bushfire be totally controlled by CASA and we need legislation to keep it drone free.   Drones fall into a similar category to hand held lasers.   These are freely available to the public and this resulted in idiots shining them in the faces of pilots, leading to severe penalties for endangering an aircraft.     Indiscriminate and unauthorized use of drones needs a similar approach.

Drones in public hands are in their infancy, but a rise in numbers is inevitable.  The right legislation needs to be in place now, before we find news headlines about a wayward drone becoming tangled in the rotors of a sky crane.