OFweekrobotIn the past two years, my country’s drones have experienced explosive growth – from tourist attractions, film and television bases to major news sites, drones are frequently seen “busy figures”. However, there are still regulatory loopholes in the management of the drone industry, the user’s flight qualifications, and codes of conduct. The frequent occurrence of “black flying” and “intrusion into no-fly areas” has further affected the development of drones. shadow. What are the main vulnerabilities of drone management? How can we regulate and manage more effectively?
Flights mostly undeclared
■Purchase and use at will, frequently break into no-fly areas, and are rarely held accountable
“Just don’t take pictures of places that are not allowed to fly. It is generally known that it is a restricted area and will not go there, nor will it be used for illegal purposes.” As a media practitioner, Li Xing (pseudonym) who lives in Kunming has always been cautious when using drones . But strictly speaking, since he never declared a flight plan, all of Li Xing’s flights still belong to “black flight”.
Li Xing told reporters that two years ago, drones began to become the standard configuration of many media. When he purchased on a domestic e-commerce website, “I was just talking about the price, but the seller didn’t ask why it was used, nor did he say anything. Where can’t fly.”
Among the more than a dozen micro-drone users surveyed by the reporter, no one has ever declared a flight plan. At the same time, considering the characteristics of his work, Li Xing has other concerns: “If the application is difficult to get approved, or the approval time is too long, it is better to fly directly. Anyway, I have never heard of anyone flying drones because of it. been held accountable.”
On the other hand, since February this year, there have been 5 incidents of drones breaking into the Kunming Airport Clearance Reserve. According to media reports, there have also been cases of drones breaking into the clearance area of airports in Hangzhou, Shantou and other airports.
The relevant responsible comrades of Kunming Changshui Airport said: “Kunming Airport has a high density of flights taking off and landing. Once encountering a drone, there is basically no room for the aircraft to avoid. In addition, the aircraft approaches and lands at a high speed. At this time, the flight altitude is low. The human and the aircraft are dangerously close to the flight plane, or the drone collides with the aircraft, and the consequences are unimaginable.”
In fact, in addition to the airport clearance area, some government agencies, military strongholds, border areas and other areas also restrict the use of drones. Some interviewees told reporters that in recent years, there have been cases of complaints or even investigations due to drones taking aerial photography in “sensitive areas”. At the same time, in densely populated areas, the risk of drones hitting buildings or injuring pedestrians cannot be ignored.
But regulations don’t seem to be a particular concern for drone sellers. When the reporter consulted a salesperson of a certain brand of UAV, the information obtained was mainly about the performance and price of the product. Is there a “no-fly zone”? The salesperson said: “Just don’t fly in prisons and airports.” Do you need real-name purchases? The salesperson simply started a promotion: “It is said that the real-name system will be implemented in the future. If you want to buy it, you should sell it earlier…”
Standard management has many loopholes
■ It is difficult to trace and collect evidence, the specific penalties are lacking, and the publicity of laws and regulations is not enough
In fact, compared with the frequent occurrence of “black flying” of consumer drones,industryThe use of class drones is much more regulated. Ke Zunjie, director of the Yunnan Basic Surveying and Mapping Technology Center, told reporters, “The pilot certificate of the operator and the airworthiness of the drone are all right, and the flight plan will be reported to the air force management department in advance for each flight.” However, due to the current consumption-grade drones The phenomenon of “black flying” is common, and Ke Zunjie is worried that if things go on like this, it will affect the approval of legal drone flight plans.
Regarding the regulations on the management of UAVs, Ke Yubao, executive secretary of the China Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and director of the UAV Management Office, said: “Personnel must have an aircraft pilot’s license; aircraft must have an airworthiness certificate, but the state has no special The law stipulates that UAVs are airworthy, so this article can be temporarily exempted.” However, according to the “General Aviation Flight Control Regulations” and other regulations, although “UAVs operating indoors, UAVs flying within the line of sight and below, and sparsely populated “UAVs for testing in open, non-populated areas” do not require a license to fly, but all flights require a plan to declare to flight control.
At the same time, according to the regulations, units and individuals engaged in general aviation flight activities, who fly without approval, fail to fly in accordance with the approved flight plan, fail to report or fail to report flight dynamics in time, fly into restricted air areas without approval, and are dangerous in the air If there is a major accident or serious consequence, the relevant department shall order corrections and give a warning according to the division of responsibilities; if a major accident or serious consequence is caused, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the Criminal Law.
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However, the relevant responsible comrades of Kunming Changshui Airport also admitted frankly, “UAV activities are highly concealed, advance and retreat quickly, and it is difficult to trace and obtain evidence.” Zhu Junkun, chairman of Yunnan Flying Tiger Tuofeng General Aviation Co., Ltd., mentioned that the lack of specific penalties has also increased the difficulty of drone management. “For example, when flying drones in a no-fly zone, law enforcement officers can dissuade them, and some law enforcement agencies will confiscate drones, but if you really look into it carefully, there is no legal basis for ‘confiscation’.”
“There are indeed some loopholes in the management of drones, but the more important thing is that the publicity is not enough.” According to Ke Yubao, the management of the most common consumer drones in the public is mainly to manage people, aircraft, and flight rules. , According to relevant regulations, different aircraft types have strict and detailed regulations, but pilots are not well aware of these regulations.
“The industry is developing too fast, and management has not kept up.” Ke Yubao believes that the current chaos is not unrelated to the explosive growth of drones in the past two years. “When everyone first came into contact with cars, there were a lot of people who didn’t obey the traffic rules, but now it has become a consensus to obey the traffic rules.”
Aviation culture needs to be popularized
■Reduce law-abiding costs, popularize aviation culture to the public, and promote healthy and orderly development
It is understood that after the continuous incidents of drones threatening the safety of civil aviation passenger aircraft at Kunming Airport, the local area has issued new regulations to strengthen clearance protection. At present, some manufacturers have released the newly upgraded polygonal no-fly zone and restricted-fly zone strategies according to the clearance protection requirements of Kunming Airport. After coordination, the Kunming Municipal Government also issued the “Notice on Further Strengthening the Air Clearance Protection of Kunming Changshui International Airport”, which clearly pointed out that without the approval of the civil aviation management agency, it is prohibited to carry out drones, aviation models and other flying activities. In addition, the airport also formed a joint inspection team with the local government and the local police station to carry out joint inspections in key areas.
According to the “Public Security Administration Punishment Law” (revised public comment draft) newly released by the Ministry of Public Security in January this year, in the future, in violation of state regulations, flying drones, paramotors, delta-wings and other general-purpose aircraft, aviation sports equipment, or aircraft at low altitudes will be imposed. Those who release unmanned free balloons, tethered balloons and other lift-off objects shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than 10 days; if the circumstances are more serious, they shall be detained for not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days.
Zhu Junkun believes that the law-abiding cost of using drones should be reduced. “It is necessary to further improve the relevant technical means, and also to optimize and simplify the approval process.”
Ke Yubao said that the U-Cloud (You Cloud) system has been launched by the UAV Management Office of the China Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. UAV users can check which areas are restricted or restricted areas for free on the network platform. In some areas, you can also declare flight plans for free through Youyun. “However, only operators’ declarations are currently accepted, and the regulatory authorities do not have enough manpower to approve individual declarations.”
At the same time, the country is currently researching and promulgating national standards for drone identification codes and “electronic fences”. In the future, it is expected to introduce a unified national standard for electronic fences. Each drone manufacturer needs to set according to the standards issued by the country. “When the drone leaves the factory, the data of the airport should be entered, so as to ensure that the drone cannot enter the restricted area.” Ke Yubao said, “The current electronic fences are mostly set by the drone manufacturers themselves. , but its comprehensiveness and authority are not enough.”
Relevant experts also emphasized that the reason why drone “black flying” incidents have been banned repeatedly, “the underlying reason is that the domestic aviation culture is not popular. In fact, as long as the plan is truthfully declared, it can basically fly, and the situation will be explained. If Civil drone pilots and even the general public know how to operate drones is reasonable and legal, so the civil drone industry will be able to develop in a healthier and more orderly manner.”
Make pilots “manageable easily”
Two or three years ago, drones were still a very “tall” niche tool; today, the drone industry, especially consumer-grade micro-drones, is developing rapidly, has a wide range of uses, and has potential in the future. It’s beyond imagination. However, it has to be admitted that due to the rapid development of drones, it has become a consensus that the management needs to be strengthened due to many “accidents”.
How to manage? The key is to strike a balance between safety and efficiency. On the one hand, for airports, prisons and other sensitive areas and densely populated areas, safety should be the top priority, and the cost of illegality should be increased if necessary, thus forcing pilots to self-discipline; on the other hand, for ordinary areas, there should be more Consider efficiency and reasonable control.
In fact, drone management can only become the norm only if pilots can easily “be managed”. For example, the setting of technical parameters to delineate the airspace for autonomous flight, online declaration of flight plans and other measures, not only facilitates the approval of the air traffic control department, but also reduces the problem of pilots “running and breaking their legs”… Improve the management of drones, Might as well break away from these areas.
“People’s Daily” (April 06, 2017 Edition 06)
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