Gatwick closed (mod note post 1)

faoiarvok

expectationlost wrote: »

maybe going off topic but why did they need to be arrested?

I would assume that would give the police power to search the home etc. which they might have to give up voluntarily, and possibly they wanted to nick them quickly to prevent deleting flight logs etc.

Homer

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1076874388761440260?s=21

Police tell BBC there may not actually have been any drones?! Eh what

Spanish Eyes

Homer wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1076874388761440260?s=21

Police tell BBC there may not actually have been any drones?! Eh what

I did suspect that from the start. Cover up almighty for something else I think.

The clumsy way this was handled was unreal too and led me to believe that something else was afoot. But sure what do I know either.

dhaughton99

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I did suspect that from the start. Cover up almighty for something else I think.

The clumsy way this was handled was unreal too and led me to believe that something else was afoot. But sure what do I know either.

Same with the way mods were threatening bans over ‘conspiracy theory’ claims that there was none.

dhaughton99

Birmingham Airport: Services halted amid air traffic control fault

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-46668635

fred funk }{

This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

NSAman

Read that mans facebook page... thought to myself there is NOWAY that a guy like that would ever be guilty.

I hope he gets a fortune from the damned newspapers.

jimmynokia

The thing i wondered is howcome there has not been one photo of the drone even from planespotters etc..

boggerman1

Homer wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1076874388761440260?s=21

Police tell BBC there may not actually have been any drones?! Eh what

Diverts away from the clusterf**k that's brexit for a day or 2

Spanish Eyes

dhaughton99 wrote: »

Birmingham Airport: Services halted amid air traffic control fault

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-46668635

Brexit Beckons. A warning maybe? I have read that air traffic is one that will be mightily affected by UK leaving the EU.

Sorry, just crushed up the tin foil that I used for the dinner earlier, so I cannot make a hat. :P

plodder

iamwhoiam wrote: »

Also possible that neighbours saw the arrests and passed on the names

Could have been neighbours who reported them to the police. How else would the police have found them? AFAIk, there is no register of drones in the UK (yet).

mickdw

The whole thing is a cover up.
No drone footage despite the world's media being and on site from a few hours in.
No action taken either from police, military or tech world to bring down drone.
Man and wife arrested with seemingly no evidence other than being model aircraft fans and them living near the airport.
Police now saying there may never have been a drone, I mean it's crazy stuff.

I don't know what was going on but it must have been pretty serious.

Under His Eye

I wonder how many D notices were issued last week? This has all the hallmarks of MI5's clumsy footprints.

AreWeAlone

Well the police did publicly state “the devices used are of an industrial specification". So the source for that claim must be investigated at the very least.

L1011

This is a further and final reminder that this isn't the Conspiracy Theories forum and moderation actions will be taken if required

AreWeAlone

L1011 wrote: »

This is a further and final reminder that this isn't the Conspiracy Theories forum and moderation actions will be taken if required

But it's not a conspiracy theory any more. It's the police themselves who are suggesting there were no drones involved.

L1011

L1011 wrote: »

This is a further and final reminder that this isn't the Conspiracy Theories forum and moderation actions will be taken if required

To be fair, it also seems the official story/police line is changing regarding drones.

EDIT: AreWeAlone got there ahead of me

Mr.Wemmick

What I do not get, whatsoever, is who reported the drone in the first place? If it were an official on-site, on the ground or in the control tower, then why did they keep reporting it through out Thursday and into Friday.

If that many flights were grounded and so much disruption caused - why, if no solid evidence of any drones?

Spanish Eyes

Sorry mods, and Happy Christmas.

But this episode is definitely odd.

dhaughton99

Mr.Wemmick wrote: »

What I do not get, whatsoever, is who reported the drone in the first place? If it were an official on-site, on the ground or in the control tower, then why did they keep reporting it through out Thursday and into Friday.

If that many flights were grounded and so much disruption caused - why, if no solid evidence of any drones?

It was ground staff.

L1011

AreWeAlone wrote: »

But it's not a conspiracy theory any more. It's the police themselves who are suggesting there were no drones involved.

There are other, complete gubbin things being posted (and removed). Cards and bans if required will be issued

dhaughton99

Homer wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1076874388761440260?s=21

Police tell BBC there may not actually have been any drones?! Eh what

The BBC story has been updated.

‘Sussex Police said there had been 67 reports of drone sightings - having earlier cast doubt on "genuine drove activity".
Det Ch Supt Jason Tingley said no footage of a drone had been obtained.’

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-46665615

Franz Von Peppercorn

It’s all a bit English.

expectationlost

Homer wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1076874388761440260?s=21

Police tell BBC there may not actually have been any drones?! Eh what

but

Drone 'buzzed' the tower

In a move known as "buzzing the tower", it emerged the perpetrator had taunted airport staff by circling the drone around the building and flashing its lights, an industry source told The Telegraph.
A detailed description of the drone, provided by witnesses, meant experts were able to determine the make and model of the machine, which is only available from a handful of locations in the UK.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/22/gatwick-airport-drone-chaos-man-woman-arrested-passengers-brace/

dhaughton99

expectationlost wrote: »

but https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/22/gatwick-airport-drone-chaos-man-woman-arrested-passengers-brace/

The problem is that it’s in the Telegraph. They also published a supposed photo of the drone although the authorities claim that there’s no photos or video.

expectationlost

For clarification: we are investigating 67 #drone sightings made by public, passengers, police officers and staff at @GatwickAirport. We have recovered a damaged #drone, we're conducting house to house enquiries & taking statements from all who reported sightings

https://twitter.com/sussex_police/status/1076931026126061568?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

sussex police statements said drone not suspected drone https://news.sussex.police.uk/news/operation-to-locate-illegal-drone-operator-continues-342537

EdgeCase

I would suspect you'll get people reporting all sorts of stuff including: drones not anywhere near the airport, far away helicopters, birds, things that look a bit droney...

It looks like they've found a drone, which we can only assume might or might not be connected with the incident. It should be possible to get fingerprints and DNA from that and if you can match up the drone with a suspected owner you can then more solidly connect the two.

Spanish Eyes

Clumsy, and totally unreal that a country with a huge MOD presence when required, and MI5/6, or whatever has not solved this issue.

But (mods permitting) there is form. Just look at Salisbury Russian stuff.

I don't mind if the mod on duty thinks I am a bit mad, but honestly, this stinks to high heaven.

theguzman

But I fail to see the reason for staging it, there is no conspiracy that I can see, if they wanted to apprehend someone or prevent something or people from travelling then this would be not how they'd go about it.

Wheres Me Jumper?

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Clumsy, and totally unreal that a country with a huge MOD presence when required, and MI5/6, or whatever has not solved this issue.

But (mods permitting) there is form. Just look at Salisbury Russian stuff.

I don't mind if the mod on duty thinks I am a bit mad, but honestly, this stinks to high heaven.

more wild speculation.
if you've got proof or something to say, well let's have it.

as it stands it's an act of vandalism.

you'll be expecting M15 to investigate graffiti artists next

L1011

The UK government is non-functioning at the moment and has been like that since the 2017 General Election at least. I wouldn't expect any normal standards of anything from them. And don't go any further down that speculative path here; there is a Conspiracy Theories forum for that.

Spanish Eyes

Wheres Me Jumper? wrote: »

more wild speculation.
if you've got proof or something to say, well let's have it.

as it stands it's an act of vandalism.

you'll be expecting M15 to investigate graffiti artists next

Ah you'll be alright in time. But honestly do you not think that the issue took a long while to solve by those who apparently have lots of intelligence (in the spook meaning of the word)?

I am not getting a lot of reasoning for the shut down of an airport for nearly three days because of a so called Drone either. Have you any other information?

Spanish Eyes

L1011 wrote: »

The UK government is non-functioning at the moment and has been like that since the 2017 General Election at least. I wouldn't expect any normal standards of anything from them. And don't go any further down that speculative path here; there is a Conspiracy Theories forum for that.

Well said. There is no trust anywhere with them now.

Wheres Me Jumper?

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Ah you'll be alright in time. But honestly do you not think that the issue took a long while to solve by those who apparently have lots of intelligence (in the spook meaning of the word)?

I am not getting a lot of reasoning for the shut down of an airport for nearly three days because of a so called Drone either. Have you any other information?

so as i suspected you have no information. you just got a hunch. a feeling. unless you have something, then you're just making stuff up.
tin hats at the ready lads!

Wheres Me Jumper?

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Well said. There is no trust anywhere with them now.

you're beginning to sound more than a little paranoid now.
next you'll be telling us Santa is a Russian agent and people need to block off access to their chimneys!

Spanish Eyes

Wheres Me Jumper? wrote: »

you're beginning to sound more than a little paranoid now.
next you'll be telling us Santa is a Russian agent and people need to block off access to their chimneys!

Thank you, and Have a happy Christmas. Opinions are what they are. Would you like to say that there is NO dodgy thing going on given the lack of action for nearly three days?

Wheres Me Jumper?

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Thank you, and Have a happy Christmas. Opinions are what they are. Would you like to say that there is NO dodgy thing going on given the lack of action for nearly three days?

if i have solid verifiable info. i'll share it.
but i will not make stuff up that i cannot back up.

Spanish Eyes

Wheres Me Jumper? wrote: »

if i have solid verifiable info. i'll share it.
but i will not make stuff up that i cannot back up.

But people are curious and will always question.

Hope you find your jumper soon anyway :pac:

plodder

It's interesting how people brought up on a diet of Hollywood action movies see the government as all powerful and this kind of stuff (that someone would fly a drone into an airport) just couldn't happen. The reality is that government agencies are often starved of funds and generally don't have access to the latest and greatest experimental counter measure technologies. Also, it's not that hard to believe that governments don't take threats seriously until the first time the threat really hits them, like this just did.

At one level, the reliance on voluntary counter-measures like geo-fencing makes some sense to deter incursions from drone hobbyists, but it would have been laughable to think it has any value at all against serious adversaries. Yet, it seems that's exactly what happened. If the authorities have been faking anything, I'd say it is the notion that they have this threat under control with whatever systems the military have deployed. I could be wrong and I hope I am, but I wouldn't bet on it.

mickdw

If the single van with telescopic pole and detection equipment is all the authorities needed to ensure the safety of aircraft, well it is clearly negligent not to have had that there since the tech became available. There should be questions asked about that point alone.

Nijmegen

An interesting read in the Guardian about the couple arrested and released without charge. A good reminder that idle speculation is just that. Sounds like they might be able to get a few quid out of some newspapers for headlines like "Are these the morons who ruined Christmas?"

The whole affair is awfully strange, for example the idea that the drone was buzzing the tower and flashing its lights and not one person whipped out their phone and took a video and stuck it up on twitter. I think I'd wait for an official report, which I'm sure is being put together presently, on the minute by minute. If you're a believer that it's all a big cover up I guess that'll not satisfy you either, but the truth has a funny way of coming out when there's more than two people involved in something.

Reati

plodder wrote: »

At one level, the reliance on voluntary counter-measures like geo-fencing makes some sense to deter incursions from drone hobbyists, but it would have been laughable to think it has any value at all against serious adversaries. Yet, it seems that's exactly what happened. If the authorities have been faking anything, I'd say it is the notion that they have this threat under control with whatever systems the military have deployed. I could be wrong and I hope I am, but I wouldn't bet on it.

GEO isn’t going to stop someone who wants to do damage with a drone. With enough technical knowledge or just money you can get around it. In fact, the military would be well aware of this given Iraq and Syria are GEO blocked zones yet terrorists having been strapping IEDs to them as flying bombs. GEO is designed to prevent idiots with no understanding from being able to fly around restricted airspace’s.

As for what the military have used is quite well detailed online and very effective but it relies on some assumptions.

• Maker of the drone?
• What mods were made if it's using GEO to get around GEO/GPS blocking?
• What flight mode the pilot has used?

From the reports I have seen online, the police thought it was a DJI drone, they used Aeroscope but it failed.

They then deployed drone shield which they claim stopped the problem. Drone shield costs 15 or 16 million a pop and it’s meant for war zones. It blasts radio signals and confuses the drones RXs but like everything it can be got around depending on the answer to 2 and 3 above.

FrancieBrady

Reati wrote: »

GEO isn’t going to stop someone who wants to do damage with a drone.

Do we have public installations blocked with this tech here?

I ask because i happened to be at a provincial football ground (GAA) and a video maker was unpacking a large drone to get overhead shots for a video he was commissioned to make. It was an expensive bit of kit - 5000 euros he said.
But he couldn't get it off the ground. Eventually he went off to find out if it was a blocked area.
I never found out...was it 'Geo locked'perhaps?

Homer

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Do we have public installations blocked with this tech here?

Have a look at the map below. In the greater Dublin/Leinster region there are 3 geo locked zones.. Dublin Airport, Casement Aerodrome and the Aviva stadium. Funnily enough Croke Park is not a no fly zone despite being a bigger stadium!

FrancieBrady

Homer wrote: »

Have a look at the map below. In the greater Dublin/Leinster region there are 3 geo locked zones.. Dublin Airport, Casement Aerodrome and the Aviva stadium. Funnily enough Croke Park is not a no fly zone despite being a bigger stadium!

Cheers. Do you have a link to the full map by chance?

antodeco

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Cheers. Do you have a link to the full map by chance?

I'm assuming it's here : https://www.dji.com/mobile/flysafe/geo-map

Homer

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Cheers. Do you have a link to the full map by chance?

That’s an app that I use when flying to give me info such as wind speed, direction, visible satellites etc and it also has a map section so you can check for local airports and small airfields. It’s available on the App Store and it’s called UAV forecast.

FrancieBrady

antodeco wrote: »

I'm assuming it's here : https://www.dji.com/mobile/flysafe/geo-map

Cheers. That confirms that the stadium I was at is indeed Geo locked.

Reati

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Do we have public installations blocked with this tech here?

I ask because i happened to be at a provincial football ground (GAA) and a video maker was unpacking a large drone to get overhead shots for a video he was commissioned to make. It was an expensive bit of kit - 5000 euros he said.
But he couldn't get it off the ground. Eventually he went off to find out if it was a blocked area.
I never found out...was it 'Geo locked'perhaps?

Yes, as noted for GEO there is that map and you are required to submit a unlocked request to fly in the red areas. Anyone worth their salt will know that before showing up for a job.

The unlocking process takes about a week depending on the level of permissions you need but it's fairly straightforward.

For example a mate was hired by Cork Airport to do a drone video which allowed him to fly around airside and over the runways. Lots of paperwork etc but was given the unlock code and off he went! Of course it was before the flights were active and he had like a light window of 15 mins to get the shots!

FrancieBrady

Reati wrote: »

Yes, as noted for GEO there is that map and you are required to submit a unlocked request to fly in the red areas. Anyone worth their salt will know that before showing up for a job.

The unlocking process takes about a week depending on the level of permissions you need but it's fairly straightforward.

For example a mate was hired by Cork Airport to do a drone video which allowed him to fly around airside and over the runways. Lots of paperwork etc but was given the unlock code and off he went! Of course it was before the flights were active and he had like a light window of 15 mins to get the shots!

The guy doing the vid was from the north, but with such an expensive bit of kit and a company specialising in this kind of work, you would have thought he would have known.

I take it that it would be pointless buying a child a drone under those exclusion zones then, unless they traveled out of them to fly?