Wiltshire drone users urged to fly responsibly by Air Ambulance
The charity had a near-miss earlier this year
Drone owners are being urged to use them responsibly by Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA) after a near-miss earlier this year with one of the charity's helicopters.
The use of drones is still growing in popularity and the charity has moved to remind people of the dangers using them around other aircraft can pose.
George Williams is a pilot with WAA and told us a collision with a drone could be disastrous for the air ambulance.
"Aircraft are quite delicate things, they can operate with high power and high speed," he said.
Helicopters are constructed from carbon fibre, which very strong, but not designed to make contact with something solid.
When it does, it tends to shatter.
"If they hit us, they will punch a hole straight through the skin or straight through our windscreen and then hit us in the aircraft, inside the aircraft. Or they can hit one of the rotor blades or one of the tail rotor blades and these things will shatter," George told us.
How drones impact life-saving work
Any of those incidents could put the safety of the air ambulance in jeopardy, but the presence of drones can also have an impact on the charity actually carrying out it's work.
George says he has to take multiple considerations into his thinking when a drone is around, which can make life difficult for any pilot: "I've got to think what is that person going to do? Has that person heard us? Has that person seen us? Has that person got malicious intent? I have no idea what that drone is doing and what it's going to it plans to do."
He told us he has to put a "bubble" around a drone flying nearby, which can prevent him getting close to a patient.
And it can cause critical delays in transporting an injured or unwell patient to hospital: "If I'm trying to take my patient to hospital, I literally can't leave. If I can see a drone flying because I don't know what that person is going to do," George said.
As a drone user himself, George urges anyone with one to land immediately when aircraft are nearby.
"It's all about common sense. You know, you see somebody else in the air, you don't know what he's going to do. Well, let's take my drone out of the mix, put it on the ground, let him get on with his thing.
"And once he's gone, then I can enjoy using my drone again," George said.
He is also encouraging people with a drone to ensure they've read The Drone Code, created by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to help them use drones safely.
"Just take 5 minutes, go and have a look at the drone code, work your way through and make sure that you understand the new environment that you're going to be operating."
Charity urges awareness of surroundings
The Air Ambulance has issued advice on flying a drone safely too.
"A drone is much smaller than a helicopter and it can blend into the background. It’s really important that people who operate drones can see them when they are flying. If they can’t see their drone when it’s flying then they won’t be able to see other aircraft, such as helicopters, flying either.
"Due to the nature of our work we often land and take off in residential areas. We spend more time below 400 feet than most other aircraft so this is another important factor for drone users to be aware of.
"If you are flying your drone and see our helicopter or any other aircraft, please land your drone and wait for us to land or fly away from your area. When we are at scene, please come and say hello to our pilots rather than using a drone to take a peek.
"We are not trying to stop people flying their drones but we want them to do so responsibly and safely."