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  • So here’s what’s happening.

  • The airport is at a standstill.

  • Hundreds of flights are canceled.

  • Thousands of anxious passengers are crowding near their gates.

  • Some are pacing nervously, others try to calm down crying babies.

  • Airlines are losing thousands of dollars for every hour of the delay.

  • So, who or what’s to blame for all this havoc?

  • Drones!

  • In January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 went down shortly after it took off from La Guardia

  • airport in New York City.

  • You mightve seen this story in the movie "Sully: Miracle on the Hudson."

  • The passengers of that infamous flight were lucky to have Chesley Sullenberger as their

  • captain.

  • He managed to land the passenger jet on the river with all 155 people on board surviving

  • the accident!

  • But the cause of the crash was a seemingly innocent flock of Canada geese which collided

  • with the plane mid-air.

  • It destroyed both of the airplane’s engines and led to the aircraft emergency landing.

  • But think about this: an adult Canada goose weighs between 4 and 13 pounds.

  • But a professional drone equipped with a camera is often much heavier.

  • No wonder a stray drone can cause a lot of damage to a plane.

  • Even worse, a quadcopter can cause a plane crash if it gets into the aircraft's engine!

  • Surely, a collision between a plane and a drone may not necessarily end badly for the

  • aircraft (although I can't say the same about the poor drone).

  • For example, in Canada, in October 2017, a passenger jet had an unlucky mid-air encounter

  • with a drone.

  • The smaller machine crashed into the plane's wing and shattered into pieces.

  • But it didn't harm the aircraft too much, and it landed safely.

  • But then, it mightve just been a lucky day for the airliner and its passengers.

  • Because tests run by an American university have proved that a 2-pound quadcopter can

  • cause severe damage to an airliner that's traveling at a speed of 380 miles per hour.

  • For one thing, drones are powered by lithium-ion batteries.

  • And imagine what would happen if such a battery wasn't broken into pieces during a crash,

  • but got lodged in the airframe!

  • In this case, the risk of fire would become terrifyingly real.

  • Plus, if a drone gets drawn into the turbine of a plane, itll most likely cause the

  • engine to shut down, which will sure complicate things for anyone on board.

  • What's more, a quadcopter weighing more than 4 pounds can break or seriously damage the

  • cockpit windshield of smaller airplanes.

  • Specialists explain that although a drone may look fragile and unthreatening, it has

  • a bulky battery.

  • That's why, in comparison with a bird, a quadcopter can be much more dangerous to a plane if it

  • hits the fuselage or gets into the engine.

  • But it's not only about the risk of physical damage drones can do to airplanes!

  • They can also cause radio frequency interference.

  • And in the worst-case scenario, it may lead to pilots losing control of the aircraft and

  • crashing it.

  • Besides, quadcopters can be extremely difficult to spot in the sky.

  • For example, researchers at Oklahoma State University studied how fast pilots of small

  • planes could notice drones if they were searching for them on purpose.

  • It turned out that the pilots saw quadcopters only when they were already one-tenth of a

  • mile away from their planes.

  • Besides, these days, pilots of big commercial airplanes can use automated systems that let

  • them communicate with each other and inform them about potential dangers.

  • Using only eyesight to control a plane has become outdated.

  • Plus, pilots certainly don't have time to waste, trying to locate small flying objects

  • approaching their aircraft.

  • You mightve noticed that nowadays, the air is literally swarming with drones.

  • The FAA (which stands for the Federal Aviation Administration) has already registered around

  • 1.3 million of them.

  • But just several years ago, in 2016, this number was only 470,000!

  • Some of these drones, which are used for commercial purposes, are controlled by remote pilots

  • who have FAA certification.

  • But most quadcopters are flown for fun by people like you and me.

  • Of course, such hobbyist pilots have to follow particular safety rules.

  • For example, they have to keep their drones in sight at all times, can't raise them higher

  • than 400 ft in the air, and aren't allowed to fly them in the airspace used by passenger

  • jets.

  • And still, things happen.

  • See for yourself: this accident took place in December 2018, in London.

  • Two illegal drones appeared on the runway of Gatwick airport in the morning, and hundreds

  • of flights had to be canceled, delayed, or even grounded to avoid the risk of collision.

  • That time, airlines lost tens of thousands of dollars, and 2,000 passengers, stranded

  • at the airport, were offered to rebook their flights or get refunds.

  • Several weeks later, drones were noticed at Heathrow Airport, and some flights were grounded

  • again.

  • And even though, luckily, no airplane has ever been seriously damaged or taken down

  • by a drone, thereve been loads of near misses.

  • For example, in September 2015, one of the scariest near misses happened in the US.

  • American Airlines Flight 475 left Atlanta, Georgia, and was heading for Charlotte, North

  • Carolina.

  • But when the passenger jet was climbing to 3,500 feet after the take-off, the pilots

  • noticed a drone that suddenly appeared dangerously close to their plane.

  • The plane had to swerve to avoid a collision.

  • Another collision couldve happened in November 2015.

  • A helicopter was leaving a children's hospital in Missouri when a drone almost crashed into

  • it at a height of 1,400 feet.

  • The air ambulance pilot later reported that if he hadn't made a steep banking turn, this

  • encounter couldve ended in a disaster.

  • Fortunately, there were no patients on board the helicopter, and the machine avoided any

  • damage.

  • And in December 2015, in California, a drone flew a mere 5 feet away from a helicopter.

  • When it happened, the chopper was at an altitude of 1,000 feet!

  • And such near accidents between airplanes and drones aren't rare in many regions of

  • the world.

  • For example, these days in the UK, three times more airplane - quadcopter encounters happen

  • than in 2015.

  • And while in 2015, 29 drones almost crashed into passenger jets, in 2016, this number

  • was already 71.

  • And in 2017, there were 92 near misses.

  • But then, the question is, "How can authorities protect airports?"

  • I used to think that it should be an easy task: after all, all airports have radars,

  • and they spot any flying object, right?

  • It turns out, though, that the issue is a bit more complicated.

  • The drones that cause the most problems don't usually rise higher than 3,500 feet.

  • But that's way lower than traditional air traffic control radars look!

  • That's why airports need radars that have faster update speed and lower gaze.

  • If you've ever seen a working air radar, either in real life or on TV, you probably remember

  • tiny blips indicating planes on the screen.

  • Several seconds between these blips work just fine for commercial planes that move along

  • particular routes.

  • But for nimble and unpredictable quadcopters, there has to be less time between the blips.

  • Theoretically, airports could apply a special signal-jamming system to confuse drones and

  • make them avoid approaching the prohibited territory.

  • But it would be too risky to do close to airports since it could disrupt vital air communications.

  • Authorities have tried other methods, such as throwing nets to bring rogue drones down,

  • or even using specially trained eagles to tackle the machines.

  • But on the whole, the problem remains unsolved.

  • But at the same time, quadcopters can't boast particular stamina.

  • Your average drone with a rechargeable battery can fly for no longer than 30 minutes.

  • It's difficult for producers to increase this time because more powerful batteries add unnecessary

  • weight to the device.

  • Plus, most quadcopters can't fly too far away.

  • Theyre connected with their controllers through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and if they fly

  • more than 1,000 feet away, the signal will be lost.

  • Although, that doesn't mean that more advanced and expensive drones can't fly way further

  • and spend much more time in the air.

  • Oh boy.

  • Hey thanks for letting me drone on about drones today.

  • So, if you learned something new today, then give the video a like and share it with a

  • friend!

  • And here are some other videos I think you'll enjoy.

  • Just click to the left or right, and stay on the Bright Side of life!

So here’s what’s happening.

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ドローン対飛行機 (Drones Vs. Airplanes)

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    林宜悉 に公開 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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