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Drones shutdown Gatwick

Telegraph_it

By Telegraph_it
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hayden_horn

hayden_horn 11362

Posted
Posted

so, they closed gatwick AGAIN due to drones

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6519109/Gatwick-runway-reopens-flights-resume-amid-drone-chaos-MoD-deploys-specialist-equipment.html

Quote

Gatwick Airport has closed its runway again tonight after another suspected sighting of a drone, bringing fresh chaos to passengers just days before Christmas.

Flights have been suspended again as the drone pilot responsible for the havoc remained at large almost 48 hours after the drone was first spotted over the airfield.  

One flight from Morocco appeared to be just moments away from landing when it was forced to divert tonight while other passengers were sitting ready for take-off when pilots told them of another sighting. 

Flight trackers suggested planes were being diverted to Stansted, Luton and Heathrow after the last plane landed at Gatwick at 4.59pm, while trains to Gatwick also faced delays. 

It comes in spite of police claims they were closing in on the pilots who used 'multiple' drones to shut down Gatwick's runway and even taunted officers by zooming over their heads while flashing lights at them. 

Detectives have identified 'persons of interest' but have failed to make any arrests 48 hours after the chaos began.

i have to say the UK government is looking completely incompetent the longer this goes on.

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52486

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On 12/20/2018 at 2:24 PM, SquishMitten said:

 

 

 

“Near miss” is a casual industry term, I believe. And it’s not really what it sounds like. I think it’s loosely used for stuff like “within 1000 feet,” “20 seconds apart,” etc.

 

But either way, you’re right in that they should have this tech already.

 

 

It’s not a near miss, it’s a near hit!

- George Carlin

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Macanudo

Macanudo 12975

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Just ever so slightly, I all of a sudden am not so pissed off about spending over a  hour driving 10 miles through Baton Rouge on I-10 yesterday an my way to Virginia. Still no excuse for that shithole of a city to have traffic so bad at 2:00 PM but at least I got to Birmingham last night as expected.

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Your Mom

Your Mom 4805

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2 people arrested

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/12/21/uk/gatwick-airport-drone-arrests-gbr/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

What's being done? 

The Ministry of Defence said Thursday that specialist equipment had been deployed to assist Sussex Police in their efforts. Sussex police assistant chief constable Steve Barry was not able to go into detail about what that equipment might be.
Police will also consider shooting the drone down, Barry said. That option was previously put aside over concerns for stray bullets. 
"The issue is whether or not, in relation to the threat that is posed, it's proportionate. As time has gone on and the level of disruption and threat increased, obviously that option has come back into availability," he said.
The airport tweeted Friday that the military measures in place were reassuring enough to reopen the airfield.

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52486

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10 hours ago, Macanudo said:

Just ever so slightly, I all of a sudden am not so pissed off about spending over a  hour driving 10 miles through Baton Rouge on I-10 yesterday an my way to Virginia. Still no excuse for that shithole of a city to have traffic so bad at 2:00 PM but at least I got to Birmingham last night as expected.

 

18 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

No good can come from Christmas travel. All those people are getting what they deserve for the choice they made. 

 

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El Diablo

El Diablo 4232

Posted
Posted
On 12/20/2018 at 2:18 PM, hayden_horn said:

this whole thing has me considering a tin foil hat. 

1) i'm surprised this hasn't happened before, frankly

2) this has the appearance of a trial run for something more nefarious

Turns out you are correct about the trial run. just not the nefarious part. We've got a picture of the perps, they're claiming it's all been a big mistake, that they did it because of pressure from the jobs they have.

 

2wn93jd.jpg

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wood

wood 11225

Posted
Posted
On 12/20/2018 at 2:52 PM, SpiralOut said:

Reminds me of a few years back when assholes were shining those super strong pen lasers at the cockpits of landing planes.  Lock 'em the fuck up and throw away the key.

Still happening. Happened just a few days ago at ABIA.

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hayden_horn

hayden_horn 11362

Posted
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now heathrow:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6569957/Heathrow-airport-runway-closed-suspected-drone-sighting.html

Quote

Passengers face fresh chaos this evening after departures at Heathrow airport were halted following sightings of a drone.  

Travellers are currently waiting on the runway unable to take off from the airport, which is the UK's largest, serving more than 200,000 people every day. 

Some passengers stuck inside planes have described vehicles out on the runway searching for the drone. 

The Metropolitan police have confirmed that they are investigating reports of a drone sighting over the runway this evening, at the airport's busiest time of day. 

 

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hayden_horn

hayden_horn 11362

Posted
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12 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Did they ever determine if there were actually drones at Gatwick?

okay, wait, the holidays got to me, and i went into a news-free vortex...i was under the impression that they had downed a drone at gatwick. is this not the case?

having read my own link, holy shit:

Quote

Police, the Army and MI5 spies combed the countryside for days in order to find the culprit. 

The operator of the drone still remains at large and, despite widespread criticism, Sussex Police have no update on the probe.

Britain's most senior police chief admitted authorities need to 'up their game' in the wake of the drone chaos at Gatwick airport.

Sussex Police were criticised after claiming there may not have been a drone, before backtracking and saying there had been numerous reports of sightings.

After a couple were arrested and then released without charge, bosses of Gatwick Airport stepped in to offer a £50,000 reward for information.

Tougher anti-drone technology systems at UK airports have been called for which can spot drones for up to five miles away.

US airports use jammers to block the frequencies used to control drones, making them stop working if they are anywhere near a commercial or military runway.

They also have 'early warning' systems to tell air traffic control if a drone is approaching - but these are not in place at UK airports. 

 

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Hate

Hate 20106

Posted
Posted

Drone sighting at Heathrow.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/londons-heathrow-halts-flights-after-sightings-of-a-drone/ar-BBRYVjs?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP17

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Flights from London's Heathrow airport were halted for about an hour on Tuesday after reports of a drone sighting near Europe's busiest air hub, raising fears that the chaos that affected rival Gatwick last month could be repeated on an even larger scale.

"We are responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow," the airport said. "As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologize to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause."

London's Metropolitan Police said they had received reports of a drone near the airport at about 1705 GMT on Tuesday, which they were investigating with airport authorities.

The airport confirmed about an hour later that take-offs had resumed. Flight tracker websites showed flights departing from 1811 GMT.

A Reuters witness in a plane on the runway at Heathrow said multiple aircraft were waiting for permission to take off before being later told that things were starting to move .

London's second busiest airport, Gatwick, was severely disrupted when drones were sighted on three consecutive days in December, resulting in about 1,000 flights being canceled or diverting and affecting 140,000 passengers.

Gatwick's drone nightmare - the most disruptive yet at a major airport - exposed a new vulnerability that will be scrutinized by security forces, airlines and airport operators across the world.

The British army was forced to deploy military technology to guard the area around Gatwick, reassuring the airport that it was safe enough to fly.

British Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said on Tuesday the military was preparing to deploy the same equipment at Heathrow.

"We are in contact with Heathrow Airport concerning the drone sighting," he said.

"I have already spoken to both the Home Secretary and Defence Secretary and the military are preparing to deploy the equipment used at Gatwick at Heathrow quickly should it prove necessary."

Both airports responded to the Gatwick incident by ordering military-grade anti-drone technology.

Heathrow said it was working closely with authorities including the police and looking at relevant technology to combat the threat of drones.

The airport handled 78 million passengers in 2017 and is the main hub for British Airways. Its busiest routes in terms of passengers numbers are to Dubai and New York-JFK.

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Telegraph_it

Telegraph_it 3357

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Posted
9 hours ago, McCroskey said:

Flying into Heathrow in a couple of months.  They better get this shit straightened out.

I flew out of Heathrow yesterday. Fortunately, the drone sighting was at 5 pm, so all the flights to the states had departed. On approach, we flew by Gatwick, and I joked to my wife, but mainly myself, that I did not see any drones. 

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