Drone disrupts CalFire air space at Sand Fire
By Dan Whitcomb, Reuters
A private drone trying to film a wildfire that has charred nearly six square miles in Northern California briefly disrupted firefighting efforts, although workers had gained the upper hand against the blaze, officials said on Monday.
Fire officials spotted the drone over the Sand Fire on Sunday and immediately called police to find the drone’s owner and have the toy grounded to avoid a possible mid-air collision, a California fire official said.
“That drone was flying within our air space and was a hazard for our aircraft,” said CalFire spokesman Kevin Lucero. “It essentially inhibited some of our operations going on.”
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office told the Sacramento Bee it was investigating the incident. It said the drone’s owner was a hobbyist trying to film the blaze.
Yet FAA, not surprisingly among those of us who are familiar with their industry driven bureaucracy, continues to drag its feet in establishing regulations for drones.
Congress needs to establish a regulatory agency that can protect the public as well as the aviation industry, a position that FAA, by law, cannot do. NTSB does its best, but always after the fact. And their safety recommendations are usually rejected by the FAA which puts the corporate interests of the airlines well ahead of public safety.
Years ago, FAA controllers foolishly tried to tell us of the problems. They were fired; nothing else has changed.
But, in a broad sense, the FAA failures to support the public in favor of the industry, are a microcosm of what has gone wrong with our country.
And, for reasons I can’t understand, is supported by folks who stupidly believe that their life styles are backed, and will somehow be improved, by a government that puts the interests of wealthy investment manipulators ahead of the interests of the citizens.
I think people who fly these drones often have no respect for peoples privacy or anyone else for that matter.
They’re great for some fun target practice though !!