How to deal with drones flying randomly?, Frequent injury and disturbance to people's wings | Incident | Drone
Recently, a drone injury incident occurred on the Hubin Pedestrian Street in Hangzhou, once again pushing the "flying" drones to the forefront of the storm.
On the evening of June 5th, a girl was shopping with her friends when she was suddenly scratched on her face by a drone propeller descending from the sky, covered in blood, and was taken to the hospital. The police found the control personnel that night and confirmed that the flight had been reported in advance according to regulations. However, during the process, the drone automatically landed due to insufficient battery, causing scratches on the girl.
In fact, this incident is also a microcosm of the current phenomenon of drones flying indiscriminately.
In recent years, with the booming development of the drone market, chaos such as disturbing the public, injuring people, and infringing on the privacy of others has become common.
On April 16th in Jiubao, Hangzhou, a 4-month-old baby was scratched in the face by a suddenly losing control drone, almost cutting his eyes.
On social media, many netizens also share their experiences of being troubled by drones.
"Drones have become rampant. It's time to take good care of them!"
"Some self-taught drone enthusiasts are like street killers."
"Do you need to take a driver's license exam while driving, and there's no need to train drones or anything like that?"
……
Although multiple regulations have been introduced at the national and local levels to accelerate the supervision of drones, various "random flights" and "black flights" are still repeatedly prohibited. How should drones fly? What are the difficulties in regulation? Chao News reporters are conducting an investigation.
Nearly a million drones have been registered, with frequent incidents of injury and disturbance to the public
"Previously, drones were a high-end and mysterious industry. Around 2015, there were gradually more players and lower entry barriers, leading to chaos." Han Dan, Deputy Director and Secretary General of the Aerial Photography Committee of the Zhejiang Photographers' Association, mentioned the current situation of drones with concern.
He introduced to the Chao News reporter that drones can be divided into military and civilian based on their purpose. Civil drones can be further divided into industrial grade drones and consumer grade drones. Industrial grade drones are mainly used in certain specific industries, such as inspection and monitoring, agricultural production, meteorological monitoring, exploration and mapping, etc. Most aerial photography enthusiasts buy consumer grade drones with low operating barriers and relatively cheap prices, ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.
Han Dan said that the DJI Mini3 Pro drone involved in the Hubin Pedestrian Street incident weighs 249 grams and is priced at about 5000 yuan. This type of micro drone is easy to operate, affordable, and even does not require real name registration, making it highly favored by many aerial photography enthusiasts. "Two joysticks, push them back, forth, left and right, and they will go up to the sky. Xiao Bai can also play."
With the improvement of intelligence level and increasingly affordable prices, drones are no longer exclusive to a few people. Chao News reporters found that there are tens of thousands of online stores selling drones on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com alone.
According to the 2022 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of the Civil Aviation Industry released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, as of the end of 2022, there were a total of 958000 registered drones in the entire industry in China. There are 700000 registered users, including 639000 individual users and 61000 enterprise, public institution, and government legal entity users. In 2022, the total number of drones flown throughout the year was 20.67 million hours, a year-on-year increase of 6.17%.
An industry insider told Chao News reporters that this data is only registered drone data, and in fact, there are still a large number of drones that have not been registered.
With the booming development of the drone market, various incidents of harm and disturbance caused by "random flying" and "black flying" are gradually increasing.
In May 2017, Chongqing Jiangbei Airport was disrupted by drones for nearly 4 hours, causing more than 140 flights to be unable to take off and land normally, resulting in delays and detention of tens of thousands of passengers;
In 2017, a drone lost control in West Lake, Hangzhou, and its rotor cut the left eyeball of a tourist;
In September 2019, during normal operation, a 2-meter-wide drone descended from the sky on the Zhengzhou No. 256 bus, causing several large pits to be smashed into the bus body due to rear end collision;
In April 2021, a drone in Shenzhen fell and its battery burst, causing it to catch fire, almost triggering a fire at a nearby construction site;
In January 2023, a 3-year-old girl in Wuhan curiously reached out to pick up a drone when she saw it land. She was instantly scratched on her forehead and nose by the rapidly rotating wings of the drone;
On March 12, 2023, at the Qingxiu Mountain Scenic Area in Nanning, Guangxi, a tourist made a mistake in manipulating a drone and hit a female actress performing at high altitude, causing her face to be injured;
……
A series of disturbance and injury incidents have exposed disorderly industry regulation, leading to controversy over drones.
Where can I fly, and do pilots need qualifications?
A drone enthusiast in Hangzhou, Xiao Pang, presented a map of a "conventional" no fly zone in the aviation circle to a reporter from Chaozhou News: the airport clearance protection zone, as well as civil aviation routes and routes, as well as the operation of high-speed and ordinary railways, highways, and waterways along the route and area; Key sensitive units, locations, and facilities such as party and government agencies, military control zones, communication, water supply, power supply, energy supply, storage of hazardous chemicals, large-scale material reserves, and regulatory venues; And some large event venues and densely populated areas.
However, Xiao Pang also frankly stated that the actual implementation is not so strict. Except for a few areas where inspections are relatively strict, many places can still be flown freely.
"Airports, airport clearance protection areas, and military control areas are absolutely not allowed to fly. It is not a problem to fly when there are few places like parks and squares, and no one knows if there are scenic spots without radar. Sometimes multiple drones can be seen at concerts." Xiao Pang said, but for safety reasons, it is best not to fly in densely populated areas.
In addition, registration and reporting can be carried out on the Hangzhou Public Security "Police Uncle APP - Zhefei", which can effectively avoid the situation of mistakenly entering the no fly zone. But many pilots may find it troublesome not to report, "mainly relying on self-awareness.".
As for flight qualifications, Xiao Pang stated that except for some plant protection drones and commercial drones that require relevant certificates, most drones do not require certification to fly. "How to put it, there's no problem if nothing happens."
"Is it worth spending money on training with such a simple operation?"
Industry insiders told Chao News reporters that there are currently several major categories of drone licenses on the market, including CAAC, AOPA, ALPA, ASFC, UTC, etc.
Among them, CAAC is a pilot's license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, with the highest value; AOPA is issued by the China Association of Aircraft Owners and Pilots, while ALPA is issued by the China Civil Aviation Pilots Association. Both are highly applicable and recognized in the industry; ASFC is awarded by the China Aviation Sports Association, mainly aimed at aviation model enthusiasts; UTC, on the other hand, is awarded by a training institution under the umbrella of drone manufacturer DJI, with a shorter learning period and cheaper tuition fees, making it the choice of most aerial photography enthusiasts.
Recently, a reporter from Chao News visited Hangzhou Zhixiang Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. located in Xihu District, Hangzhou. The company was established in 2016 and is a training institution for Chinese civil drone pilots and the Zhejiang Province UAV License Examination Center.
Coach Zhou Huimin introduced that taking the UTC exam is similar to obtaining a regular car driver's license. First, participate in training and then take the exam. The training course includes two parts: theory and practice. The theoretical course is divided into systematic knowledge such as meteorology, airspace regulations, and flight principles, while the practical course is divided into operational courses such as takeoff and landing, emergency response, etc. "It's not difficult, the first exam has a pass rate of 80% to 90%."
It is reported that the tuition fee for the four-day course is 2800 yuan. Last year, the training center recruited about 1000 students.
There were a total of 18 students in the training classroom that day, of which about 60% were engaged in emergency surveying work, 20% were employees of advertising companies, and 20% were personal enthusiasts. Everyone knows about the drone injury incident in Hubin Pedestrian Street, and the coach specifically talked about this case during class.
Student Qi Chuanzhong is one of the few enthusiasts who comes to participate in the training at their own expense. He just spent 5000 yuan to buy a micro drone for aerial photography during his self driving tour. "The operation is not difficult, but after learning the system, I feel more at ease and responsible for myself and others." However, Qi Chuanzhong admitted that his family and friends around him all laughed at him, "Is it worth spending this money on training because the operation is so simple?"
The awkwardness of "Qi Chuanzhong" is also reflected in the data.
According to the 2022 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of the Civil Aviation Industry, as of the end of 2022, there were 700000 registered users of drone owners in the entire industry, but 152800 valid pilot licenses for drones accounted for only 21.8%.
Why are many flight enthusiasts unwilling to participate in training and certification?
According to Zhou Huimin's analysis, firstly, some flight enthusiasts have a mentality of luck. Ignorants are fearless and believe that they can play proficiently without the need for training and certification. Some salespeople also emphasize to consumers that the operation is particularly simple.
"Many consumers, after buying it, read the instructions and watch online videos to get started flying. In emergency situations, it is easy to get into trouble." Zhou Huimin analyzed that the Hubin drone injury incident was caused by improper operation. When the drone's battery is in the countdown state, experienced pilots will not fly greedily, otherwise they will be forced to land at the next node.
"Only through professional and systematic training can one master various principles of drone control, understand how to operate safely, and how to handle emergencies safely. This kind of training is actually just like the driving school training before our driver's license exam, which is necessary." Zhou Huimin said.
But unlike obtaining a driver's license, in actual management, obtaining a license is not a necessary condition for drones to be launched.
According to a series of documents issued by the relevant departments of drone management, in China, if the takeoff weight is greater than 7 kilograms, the flight altitude is above 120 meters, and the flight distance is beyond 500 meters, the drone operator needs to fly with a certificate.
Some pilots also have doubts about various certificates. "Shouldn't all the qualification certificates for drones be issued by the government? Nowadays, many are issued by industry associations or manufacturers."
Lack of sound laws and regulations, and regulatory difficulties in identification and implementation
Several industry insiders have stated that the emergence of drones has brought great convenience to work in many fields. However, the non-standard use of drones does indeed have some safety hazards, and it is urgent to strengthen supervision.
"At present, the main reason for the regulatory difficulties is that the laws and regulations are not yet sound," said Ma Qilin, a professor at the Law School of Zhejiang University of Business and a lawyer at Zhejiang Jindao Law Firm, in an interview with Chao News.
At the national level, in January 2018, the Office of the National Air Traffic Control Commission organized the drafting of the Provisional Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. On April 7th this year, the State Council reviewed and approved the Provisional Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, but it has not yet been officially promulgated.
In addition, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has successively issued a series of regulations, including the "Air Traffic Management Measures for Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems", "Management Measures for Commercial Flight Activities of Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicles", and "Regulations on Real Name Registration Management of Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Pilots", all of which are normative documents of industry management departments. At present, in Zhejiang Province, the safety management of drone flights is based on the "Zhejiang Province Public Safety Management Regulations for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" implemented on May 1, 2019. Due to the lack of upper level laws, it is only a "guiding opinion".
"At present, most of the regulations that have been issued are still at the level of departmental regulations and have not yet risen to the legal level, lacking sufficient binding force." Ma Qilin said that in addition, the relevant content is relatively macro and general, and specific issues such as low altitude airspace classification management, airspace planning, flight safety control, and flight access supervision have not been clearly defined, resulting in "difficult identification" and "difficult implementation" in the management process. At present, the supervision of drones is more focused on on-site management, including unreported drones. Public security departments can only detect problems and handle them in an appropriate manner, making it difficult to achieve comprehensive and accurate results.
Therefore, Ma Qilin suggested that the top priority is to accelerate the official release of the Provisional Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight, establish a comprehensive supervision mechanism for unmanned aerial vehicles, and ensure that unmanned aerial vehicle flight management has a legal basis and operates efficiently.
One good news is that recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation released the mandatory national standard "Safety Requirements for Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems", which will be implemented on June 1, 2024. This standard is the first mandatory national standard in the field of civil drones in China, and is also a supporting standard for the Provisional Regulations on Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. It is applicable to micro, light, and small civil drones other than aircraft models. It proposes mandatory technical requirements and corresponding test methods in 17 aspects, including electronic fences, remote identification, emergency response, structural strength, aircraft structure, whole machine drop, power energy system, controllability, error prevention, perception and avoidance, data link protection, electromagnetic compatibility, wind resistance, noise, lighting, identification, user manuals, etc.
This policy will improve the quality of civil drone products, regulate flight activities, and play a positive role in controlling "black flying" and "disorderly flying", maintaining public safety and order.
In addition to managing machines well, managing people well is also an important aspect. Ma Qilin believes that real name registration is necessary for drone driving. It is recommended to implement a "blacklist" system for units and individuals who have repeatedly caused infringement incidents due to non-standard use of drones, prohibiting them from using drones in specific areas and places for a certain period of time. For malicious behaviors that violate regulations by using drones, they should be promptly reported and transferred to judicial authorities for legal responsibility.
Further discussion is needed on who will be responsible for the "blacklist" system and how to punish it in the future. But overall, having such a "blacklist" system can form a long-term deterrence mechanism against some malicious users of drones.
Cheng Suxian, Secretary General of the Drone Branch of the Zhejiang General Aviation Industry Association, suggested that training should be provided to drone owners through industry autonomy to strengthen correct guidance for drone enthusiasts and promote compliant development of the industry.
However, industry insiders also suggest finding a balance between strengthening regulation and encouraging industrial development.
Cheng Suxian told Chao News reporters that in the long run, "random flying" and "black flying" are not conducive to national security and social security, but also to promoting the healthy development of the drone industry. But strengthening supervision should pay attention not to "one size fits all" and prevent excessive force from "dying in one tube". In the future, in order to form a broader application of UAVs, it is necessary to find a balance between hidden danger elimination and industrial development, which depends not only on the safety and progressiveness of technology, but also on prudent and inclusive operation supervision.
