Group conducts unmanned aircraft research to protect plane pilots

By Macy Egeland

LA JUNTA, Colo.–  Drones and unmanned aircraft systems are becoming more and more popular, and they are also causing problems for pilots in low-flying planes.

Now, the Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association is conducting experiments to come up with solutions.

The CAAA teamed up with a company called Agribotix, a group that sells drones to people in the ag industry.

Together, they put together a program called Think Before You Launch to conduct research about drones and planes sharing the same airspace.

The group took to the air to find out just how hard it is for pilots to spot these small drones.

They said this research is the first of its kind, and that it’s crucial they start finding solutions to help keep pilots safe.

The test is pretty simple. Several pilots fly over fields where drone operators are also flying their machines, and the pilots try to figure out how close they have to be to see the drones.

“These crop dusters are flying low all over the place, all over every field and we need to come up with some way to coordinate with them,” Jimmy Underhill with Agribotix said.

“So the test right now will help us prove, ‘can we see it in time to safely avoid it?’” Jessica Freeman with the CAAA said.

Even though they knew they were there, only one pilot spotted a drone when the sun reflected off of it. Then it was gone.

Freeman said there are 15 industries that use the airspace between zero and 400 feet, and drones cause dangerous situations for all of them.

“It’s a huge deal that we avoid mid-air collisions,” she said.

Even a three-pound bird can cause major damage when it hits a plane while flying. Now imagine what would happen if it were a chunk of metal.

“It’s a scary liability for both parties. You don’t want to have a fatal midair collision and you as a drone operator don’t want to accidentally cause an accident,” Freeman said.

“Everybody who flies one of these should be aware of airspace rules, what’s going around above them and they should inform themselves,” Underhill said.

But even if both parties are following the rules, they can still take each other by surprise.

That’s something this group hopes to prove, before anything bad happens.

“Education is huge, and then catching the attention of the FAA that this is a real problem that needs to be addressed and moving forward with research and solutions,” Freeman said.

Some of the solutions they’ve started to come up with include having large signs on the ground that say UAS to warn pilots that there’s a drone in the area.

They’ve also talked about better communication devices and high-tech sense-and-avoid technology.

http://fox21news.com/2015/10/05/group-conducts-unmanned-aircraft-research-to-protect-plane-pilots/