Police Issue Urgent Drone Safety Warning Following Incident with Rescue Helicopter

The police have issued a warning to drone users after one of the devices was flown close to a Coastguard helicopter during a rescue operation. Officers say there could have been “catastrophic” consequences if the drone had collided with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue helicopter while it was involved in extracting an injured walker from the Mourne Mountains earlier this month.

Drone Incident
APSNI officer spotted the drone as it flew close to the chopper as it was about to take off from Donard Park in Newcastle on May 11 soon after helping extract the walker from Cove Mountain. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Detective Superintendent Sean Fitzpatrick, from the PSNI’s Air Support Unit, said: “With drones becoming ever more popular I would ask all users to familiarise themselves with legislation and regulations. Comprehensive guidance is available on our website, and is in line with the Air Navigation Order and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations.

Safety Measures
“Following a recent incident in the Mourne Mountains, when a Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue helicopter was put in danger from a drone, I am asking drone users to adhere to the regulations in place to fly drones safely. The helicopter had successfully extracted an injured casualty from the mountains and brought them to safety where they were transferred to an ambulance and, as the helicopter prepared to lift off, a drone was spotted being flown in close proximity, putting all on board in serious danger. Police officers made their way to the site where the drone had been seen but the operator had left the area.

Enforcement Actions
“The legislation exists to ensure safety, and essentially drones should not pose any risk, either to aircrafts or people. Accordingly, drones must not be flown near any airport, flight path or aircraft, and must not be flown near or over the public. They must also not be flown in any manner that could hamper emergency services when they are responding to an emergency incident.” According to a PSNI Facebook post soon after the incident, the South Down neighbourhood team were “assisting Newcastle Coastguard to secure the landing site for Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue Helicopter 199 from Prestwick as they worked with Mourne Mountain...