Unlicensed Police Drone Grounded

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8517726.stm

Unlicensed Merseyside Police drone grounded

Police on Merseyside have had to ground their new drone over concerns it was being used illegally without a licence.
Merseyside Police said they had been unaware they needed a licence to fly the £40,000 remote control helicopter fitted with a CCTV.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it needed to be consulted over any use of the drones, that can fly up to 400ft and reach speeds of 30mph.
The force's new drone was used last week to catch a car thief in thick fog.
All unmanned aircraft, not just ones that weigh 15lb (7kg) or more, now have to be licensed to conduct aerial surveillance work after the law changed at the start of the year.
They need CAA permission to fly within 164ft (50m) of people and within 492ft (150m) of buildings.
The CAA said any breach in regulations, which came into force on 1 January 2010, would be "treated seriously".

Bit ironic if you ask me. Its a wonder that NO ONE in their UAS team were aware of the regs?

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Gary Mortimer February 18, 2010 at 4:04pm

From the top of my head the ANO is 393 try that, this reminds me of the start of HitchHikers, the notification has been on display at your local planning office..... Blows my mind that people did'nt see this coming even the Police ;-)
simonl February 17, 2010 at 1:01pm

@Gary: True, but their website still has the old CAP722 on it! I can't find any updates :-(
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Gary Mortimer February 16, 2010 at 11:19pm

I believe they were operating under a previous permit which expired when new regs came in.

For me the regs are a good thing and present opportunity for correctly licenced people to make money, along with Australia UK is now at the cutting edge of such things.

The UK CAA is not out of the loop like the FAA, they are watching here and other places and on top of whats cooking!

I don't work for them and I'm not crawling, I have had 21 years of dealing with Gatwick behind me. Great canteen in the new building.
Wayne February 16, 2010 at 8:57pm

Sounds like some lawyer. "My client may have stolen a car but the method in which he was caught was illegal and there for my client should get off the hook." Typical lawyer mentality.
David Conger February 16, 2010 at 5:32pm

The lawyer for the suspected car thief is who tipped them off. Good case of laws protecting the guilty and limiting the police in their ability to do their jobs. All for the better I'm sure. It looks like a dangerous craft to me.
Overwatch February 16, 2010 at 2:43pm

The FAA is legendary for its cluelessness and latency. We had a strato balloon launch once and wanted to know if any paperwork needs to be filled beforehand and it took them 9 days to figure out the answer and reply, with somewhere in the vicinity of 3-4 hours of phone calls (mostly redirects and elevator music). It's like the holy grail of bureaucracy :-)
Wayne February 16, 2010 at 2:26pm

Ya you would think that would be the case. I mean how long would it have taken the CAA (or in the USA case the FCC) to catch on to something like that if it wasnt for media exposure or the fact it is being used by a police force. Im sure if it was just you or I using such an item it would take WAY longer if they caught on at all. Kinda like the RIAA catching you for download music. It can happen but what are the odds. ;)
Overwatch February 16, 2010 at 1:45pm

I think the thief being caught by a drone is what drew the attention of the CAA in the first place.
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Morli February 16, 2010 at 1:28pm

Poor thief , if only he had waited for few more days,,,,, :)))
Angus Peart February 16, 2010 at 8:53am

We're going to go over this a third time are we?

This reply was deleted.