Helicopters Are at Highest Risk From Drones, U.K. Report Says

(Bloomberg) -- Helicopters are at far greater risk of destruction in a collision with a drone than are conventional aircraft, according to evidence presented in a study by U.K. lawmakers.

The craft are rendered vulnerable by their thinner windscreens, low operating altitudes and comparatively fragile rotor blades, the report published Friday by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee says.

Risks are further increased because helicopters are often flown in urban areas where the margin for error is small, or in mission-critical situations such as road accidents and police incidents that can themselves act as a magnet for drone activity, the committee says, citing comments from the Balpa pilot union.

Drones pose an especially high risk around ad hoc chopper landing sites from which unmanned craft aren’t excluded, the study says, citing a submission from Babcock International, Britain’s biggest air-ambulance operator. The committee calls on the government to impose temporary restrictions around all such landing zones and introduce legislation within 12 months.

Britain introduced a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) drone exclusion zone around airport runways on March 1 after incursions that closed London’s Gatwick hub in December, extending a previous 1-kilometer no-fly area. Operators of devices weighing more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) must register as of Nov. 30 and take an online competency test.

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