Recently, an incident involving illegal drone flights has raised public concern about the safety issues between drones and civil aviation passenger planes. In this incident, a drone unexpectedly approached a flying civil aviation passenger plane, causing flight delays.Drones, as products of modern technology, are indeed remarkable. How can they impact civil aviation passenger planes? How can we ensure a safe distance between the two? Below, I will provide answers.
What is a Drone?
A drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, is an uncrewed aircraft controlled by radio remote control and onboard programmed devices. Due to their flexibility and multifunctionality, drones have been widely used in aerial photography, agriculture, rescue operations, and many other fields. However, the proliferation of these small flying devices has also brought new challenges to the flight safety of civil aviation passenger planes.
Impact on Civil Aviation Passenger Planes
Collision Risk:If a drone intrudes into the airspace of a civil aviation passenger plane, there is a risk of collision. Most drones fly at low altitudes, are small in size, and have slow speeds, which makes it difficult for the radar on civil aviation passenger planes to detect them, increasing the difficulty of avoidance. Civil aviation passenger planes fly at high speeds during takeoff and landing, and a collision with a drone could result in severe consequences. For example, a drone weighing 1.8 kilograms colliding with a civil aviation passenger plane flying at a speed of 960 kilometers per hour could produce a huge impact force, damaging the aircraft’s structure and potentially leading to engine ingestion, causing irreparable losses.Signal Interference:The flight and communication control of drones may interfere with the radio equipment of civil aviation passenger planes. The flight control systems, automatic navigation systems, and communication devices on civil aviation passenger planes may be affected by drone signals, which could impair the normal flight of civil aviation passenger planes. Especially during takeoff and landing, the requirements for automatic navigation are high, and if electromagnetic interference occurs at this time, it poses a serious threat to aviation safety.Illegal Flight Activities:Unauthorized drone flights, known as “black flights,” pose a significant threat to civil aviation safety. In recent years, numerous incidents of unauthorized drone flights have occurred globally, disrupting the normal operation of airports and even leading to flight diversions, cancellations, or delays, causing inconvenience to passengers and economic losses.
Airspace Management
According to the “Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flights” (State Order No. 761):
The state shall designate controlled airspace for unmanned aerial vehicles as needed (hereinafter referred to as “controlled airspace”).
Airspace above 120 meters from the ground, air exclusion zones, air restriction zones, and surrounding airspace, military aviation low-altitude flight airspace, as well as the airspace above the following areas shall be designated as controlled airspace:
(1) Airports and surrounding areas;
(2) Areas within a certain range on our side of national borders, actual control lines, and border lines;
(3) Military prohibited areas, military management areas, and sensitive units, as well as surrounding areas;
(4) Protection areas for important military-industrial facilities, nuclear facility control areas, areas for the production and storage of flammable and explosive materials, and large storage areas for important combustible materials;
(5) Public infrastructure such as power plants, substations, refueling stations, water supply plants, public transport hubs, aviation electronic hubs, major water conservancy facilities, ports, highways, and electrified railway lines, as well as surrounding areas and drinking water source protection zones;
(6) Facilities needing special electromagnetic environment protection, such as radio astronomy observatories, satellite measurement and control (navigation) stations, aviation radio navigation stations, and radar stations, and surrounding areas;
(7) Important revolutionary memorials, important immovable cultural relics, and surrounding areas;
(8) Other areas designated by the national air traffic management leadership.
The specific scope of controlled airspace shall be determined by air traffic management agencies at all levels according to the regulations of the national air traffic management leadership and published by the people’s government at the municipal level and above, with flight information released by civil aviation management departments and units responsible for corresponding duties.
Without the approval of air traffic management agencies, no unmanned aerial vehicle flight activities shall be conducted in controlled airspace.
Airspace outside the controlled airspace is suitable for micro, light, and small unmanned aerial vehicles.
In response to the above description, the eight airports in Tibet and the areas within 10KM on both sides of the runway centerline and 20KM outside the runway end are all designated as no-fly zones.
Legal Responsibilities
According to the “Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flights” (State Order No. 761):(This content only excerpts part of the legal responsibilities; please refer to the document for specifics.):
Units or individuals organizing flight activities that violate the following regulations shall:
Operators of unmanned aerial vehicles must adhere to the following behavioral norms:
(1) Legally obtain relevant licenses and documents and carry them for inspection during flight activities;
(2) Prepare for safe flight before conducting flight activities, check the status of unmanned aerial vehicles, and timely update electronic fence information;
(3) Keep track of the flight dynamics of unmanned aerial vehicles in real time and maintain smooth communication with air traffic management agencies for approved flight activities, complying with air traffic management and reporting promptly after the flight ends;
(4) Maintain necessary safety distances according to the regulations of the national air traffic management leadership;
(5) Operators of micro unmanned aerial vehicles must fly within visual range;
(6) Operators of small unmanned aerial vehicles flying in suitable airspace must comply with the national air traffic management leadership’s regulations regarding speed limits, communication, navigation, and other aspects;
(7) When flying at night or in low visibility weather conditions, they must turn on the lighting system and ensure it is in good working condition;
(8) For beyond visual line of sight flights, they must be aware of the flight dynamics of other aircraft in the airspace and take measures to avoid collisions;
(9) They must not operate unmanned aerial vehicles under the influence of alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or other drugs;
(10) Other flight activity behavior norms as stipulated by the national air traffic management leadership.
Operators of unmanned aerial vehicles must comply with the following yielding rules:
(1) Yield to manned aircraft, gliders, and ground or water vehicles;
(2) Single aircraft must yield to clusters of flying aircraft;
(3) Micro unmanned aerial vehicles must yield to other unmanned aerial vehicles;
(4) Other yielding rules as stipulated by the national air traffic management leadership.
Those ordered to correct by civil aviation management departments may face fines of up to 10,000 yuan; if they refuse to correct, fines between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan may be imposed, along with the suspension of their operating qualifications and operator licenses for 1 to 3 months; in severe cases, air traffic management agencies may order a suspension of flights for 6 to 12 months, impose fines between 50,000 and 100,000 yuan by civil aviation management departments, and revoke relevant licenses, with no applications accepted for 2 years.
Unauthorized operation of micro, light, and small civil unmanned aerial vehicles in controlled airspace, or operation of model aircraft outside the airspace designated by air traffic management agencies, shall be ordered to stop flying by public security organs, with fines of less than 500 yuan; in severe cases, the violating unmanned aerial vehicle will be confiscated, and fines between 1,000 and 10,000 yuan will be imposed.
Illegal possession and use of unmanned aerial vehicle countermeasures shall be confiscated by radio management agencies and public security organs according to their responsibilities, with fines of less than 50,000 yuan; in severe cases, fines between 50,000 and 200,000 yuan will be imposed.
Those constituting violations of public security management shall be punished by public security organs according to law; if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued according to law; and if personal, property, or other damages are caused, civil liability shall be borne according to law.
Precautions
1. Please be sure to understand and comply with local flight regulations and safety guidelines; 2. Avoid flying in sensitive areas such as the flight paths of civil aviation passenger planes and near airports; 3. Maintain a safe distance from civil aviation passenger planes to ensure flight safety.
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Drones, as a crystallization of modern technology, have brought many conveniences to our lives. However, when using drones, we must always keep in mind the principle of safety first and strictly adhere to flight regulations to ensure a safe distance between drones and civil aviation passenger planes, collectively maintaining a safe and harmonious flight environment.
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This issue editor | Zhou HangIllustration contributed by | Zhou Hang (District Bureau Party Office), Zhang Binfei (Air Traffic Control Center)Editor | Wang Zhaopeng