NZ CAA grounds Hamilton drone pilot
CHRIS GARDNER
A Hamilton marketing business is under investigation after police received two complaints about a video it posted online shot over Hamilton with a flying camera.
Adam Crouchley, of Dori Media, is under Civil Aviation Authority investigation after Hamilton police received complaints that his 3 minutes and 20 second long video on YouTube broke the law.
Mr Crouchley posted a link to the video to his Facebook page on Saturday morning after police called at his Hamilton East home at 7.45am asking him to remove the video because someone complained to CAA.
It had been on YouTube since Thursday.
The police gave him a light warning because the video showed night footage, and video shot close to buildings.
“They said there was a complaint to the Civil Aviation Authority and told me I was was not allowed to fly at night, in the city within 150 metres of buildings,” Mr Crouchley said.
“They said to me. ‘I see you were flying in Victoria St, which is close to the police station. You are not allowed to fly close to the police station’.”
Mr Crouchley said police claimed the Phantom 2 drone was dangerous because its compass interfered with its GPS.
“I corrected him and he said ‘you can be smug all you like but you have broken the law’ and I said ‘sure I broke the rules, but I did not know there were rules’. Now I know them I am going to stick to them.”
He took the video down on Monday and edited the night footage out before reposting it.
The new version is two minutes and 55 seconds long.
CAA spokesman Mike Richards said the authority was concerned about the flights because the operator may have committed an offence by flying the aircraft within Hamilton Airport’s control zone.
“This is punishable upon conviction by a fine up to $5000 for an individual; or for a company by a fine up to $30,000. Alternately the Director could impose an infringement fee of $2000 in the case of an individual; or $12,000 for a company.
He said it was also an offence for an operator to fly at night.
“We note that the Waikato hospital is situated within the control zone in the city sector.”
Mr Richards said if an offence had been committed the Director of Civil Aviation had a number of intervention tools available including education, issuing a formal written warning, an infringement offence notice or prosecution.
“The CAA may be concerned with video footage of offending being in the public domain if that footage had potential to encourage others to operate in a similar manner. The same could apply with respect to any footage showing a remotely piloted aircraft system operating at night.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/9795311/CAA-grounds-drone-pilot
