Drone mishap ‘matter of time’

| Greymouth Star | Meg Fulford |

Warning signs ignored

West Coast aviators say it is only a matter of time before a drone causes an accident, yet despite complaints, nobody has been prosecuted.

Figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority show five complaints were lodged in the first half of this year, 10 last year, nine in 2023 but only a handful in the Covid years — 8 from 2020 to 2022. The lions share were at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, with 11 complaints over the past 18 months.

Signs advising of the drone ban are in place at popular tourist sites including Cape Foulwind, Dolomite Point, the Paparoa Track, Hokitika Gorge, Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier and Lake Matheson.

The Lake Haupiri area around the Gloriavale Christian Community has generated several complaints this year, including operating within 4km of an aerodrome (at Gloriavale) and operating above 400ft.

At Franz Josef — the busiest heliport in New Zealand — the positioning and overlap of airport and heliport 4km restricted zones puts a massive blanket ban on drones.

Gus and Poppy Gordon operate Glacier Country Helicopters and Mr Gordon said wayward drones had previously caused “all sorts of mayhem” but apprehending the culprits was difficult.

“They are really hard to catch

— I know our local police try to track them but by time you draw a bead, the operator has packed up and left.”

Mr Gordon said it was only a matter of time before a drone caused an accident, and despite the airspace ban, “the foreign people don’t seem to care”.

Department of Conservation principal investigation officer Hayden Loper confirmed eight drone incidents had been reported to DOC since May 2021, but no enforcement action had been taken “as by the time these matters were reported, the persons involved had left the area”.

“People need a permit to land, take off or hover a drone on or over conservation land — even if they are just doing it for fun — all aircraft operating on conservation land need a permit under the Conservation Act.”

However, due to limited powers, no drones have yet been confiscated. The department says it could issue infringement notices of $800, with higher penalties of up to two years in jail, or a $100,000 fine, could also apply for offences in some areas. Hokitika Airport and Destination Westland chief executive Melanie Anderson said while no incidents had occurred recently, in the past the police have been called in, and airport staff were aware of numerous scheduled flights and medical operations that had been put at risk by drone use.

“Sometimes people are not fully aware of the proximity of the airport. (At Hokitika) especially visitors to the Coast, with the most recent incident involving a tourist.

“A lot of people believe that they know how to control a drone and not put anyone at risk — the problem, as we see on Facebook, are people looking for their lost drones, so these things do happen,” Mrs Anderson said.

“We actively manage where we can, the drone usage in the 4km restricted zone because of the huge safety risk that drones create in the airspace.

“Additionally, we have a link on our website for anyone wishing to put a drone up within that zone

— such as for photographing property — and we are also adding tools for members of public to notify us of possible breaches.”