In 2021, a Cessna airplane was struck by a drone while on final approach to Toronto Municipal Airport.
The plane was being flown by an instructor and student according to Canada’s Civil Aviation.
The plane was flying at 500 feet when the accident occurred and believed it had been a bird strike.
Even after the accident, the decision was made to land according to the plan since the pilots didn’t lose power.
But after safely landing, the pilots were shocked at the damage.
The Cessna suffered a massive dent on the left underside of the engine cowling.
In addition, the propeller and air box were also bent in the collision.
The owner of the plane told local media that the strike could have resulted in loss of life.
Along with the damage to the aircraft, the drone that hit the plane was destroyed in the incident.
The thing about the accident was that the drone was operated by the York Regional Police.
And the drone had actually made an unauthorized entry into controlled airspace.
Before operating a drone in controlled airspace, the flight plan must be approved, and radio contact has to be maintained between the drone pilot and air traffic controllers.
The York Police didn’t respond to the accident other than to say that the department had a drone operating in the area.
This was the second time that a police drone had been involved in an accident in Canada.
In fact, in an earlier incident, a police drone struck a helicopter.
Now, the reality is more police departments in the U.S. are turning to drones.
But they are not just using them to search for missing people.
In fact, more departments are using drones to respond to calls from citizens.
In Denver, city officials said that drones will not replace human officers.
But, with massive budget cuts, the department plans to use drones to respond to certain 911 calls.
A police official said, “If there was a fight at Colfax and Cherokee and we put a drone in the air and there is no fight and nothing causing traffic issues, then we would reroute our police officers to other emergency calls.”
Over 1,400 police departments in the U.S. use drones for surveillance and missing person cases.
But, like the Denver Police, many departments could be changing the way they use drones.
Here are some ways this could affect you and your safety:
Over policing:
Imagine what society would be like if there were drones all over the skies.
Anyone attending political events or protests would have to assume that police are capturing their image and storing it.
While there might not be any illegal activity occurring, it could be used against you (we have seen this before).
Most departments claim that drones will only be used to respond to reports of a crime, not flying around looking for crimes.
But think of all the mistaken calls that police respond to.
A call might come in for a person with a gun, but it could be a cell phone.
All of a sudden you could find yourself on law enforcement’s radar thanks to a bogus complaint.
Drones don’t act:
A Denver Police official said in the future drones could carry a defibrillator, because the drone could get there faster than an officer.
The problem is that there would need to be a person on the scene to administer the defibrillator.
In other words, the drone can’t carry out the actions to use the defibrillator.
So, would police expect citizens at the scene to administer first aid?
And would citizens be willing to do that?
And how about the liabilities associated with all that (cue the smarmy lawyers)?
Essentially, drones responding to 911 emergency calls would do little to help the victim of the crime.
They would simply be there to watch or capture the footage.
Public record:
In many cases, citizens have a right to government records, including videos.
For instance, oftentimes body-worn camera videos are released to the public.
In many situations, drones will capture a lot of private video.
A drone might respond to a suspicious activity and capture video of someone enjoying their backyard.
Or the drone could unintentionally capture video looking into someone’s window.
Not only could the video be publicly released, but the department would have to store the video.
Doubtless, the future of law enforcement is drones.
But if your local police use drones you need to know the limitations and privacy concerns.
And you need to ensure your personal safety and privacy plans need to take this into account.
