Government and industry safety specialists within commercial air transport and business aviation have confronted a number of situations in recent years in which pilots reported low-altitude traffic conflicts with small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Among concerns have been sightings of UAS aircraft — unknown to air traffic controllers — operating higher than 400 ft above ground level (AGL), evasive maneuvers and near-midair collisions near airports (see “Opening the Skies”).
These specialists’ counterparts in the U.S. wildlands1 aviation firefighting community have welcomed opportunities to share parallel experiences and the defensive measures they have taken so far, as discussed in their reports, a public education campaign and an update briefing with AeroSafety World.
They are applying risk-analysis methods, tools and tactics through their safety management systems to discourage intrus…
