‘A bit unsettling actually’ – Drone spotted over Oamaru

By Daniel Birchfield

A drone spotted hovering ominously in a single spot near Oamaru homes has spooked at least one resident.

An Eden St resident, who did not want to be named, contacted the Oamaru Mail with concerns about the drone flying around their property early on Saturday afternoon.

The resident, who lives at the top end of Eden St, said the drone at one point was hovering in a single spot for “two or three minutes”.

The person, who was doing some gardening at the time, said they felt scared and wondered if they were being spied on.

“It was a bit unsettling actually.

“It was obviously a drone. It was definitely doing something.”

The resident said the drone “just sort of slid off” after several minutes.

On Tuesday night, another Oamaru resident posted on Facebook that they had found an abandoned drone, complete with camera, in the Glen Warren Reserve area.

It is not known whether it is the same drone spotted on Saturday afternoon.

Sergeant Craig Sew Hoy of Oamaru police said he was unaware of any reports related to a suspicious drone flying around in the Eden St area on Saturday.

However, he was aware of people and agencies in Oamaru that owned drones.

“There are several people around town that have got drones. Some real estate agents are using them for taking photos of houses and so on. It’s not really a police matter unless it’s causing a problem.

“There are no real laws around them at this stage, but obviously if they are flying over peoples houses and they think they’re being spied on, they should call police.”

Some drones, which feature a lightweight body with four or more propellers, have built-in cameras, while others allow cameras to be mounted.

In addition to real estate agencies using drones, the Waitaki District Council has plans to buy one to monitor coastal erosion.

Some electricity companies use them to monitor power lines.

According to Civil Aviation Authority rules, a drone operator needs to be able to see the aircraft with their own eyes – not through binoculars, a monitor, or a smartphone.

The aircraft can be flown only in daylight, must give way to all crewed aircraft, can’t be flown higher than 120m above ground level and can’t be flown within 4km of any aerodrome.

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