Page 10 - auatraveller

Lufthansa flight has
near-miss with drone
near Warsaw, Poland

A Lufthansa plane with 108 passengers on board

nearly collided with a drone as it approached Warsaw’s
main airport, the airline said on Tuesday.
The drone came within 100 metres (330 feet) of the
Embraer plane when the Munich to Warsaw flight was
at a height of about 760 metres, the airline and the
Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) said.
Police are investigating, a PANSA spokesman said.
The plane landed safely at 14:09 GMT, a Lufthansa
spokeswoman said.

PANSA changed landing directions for other planes The regulations are due to be presented in the autumn zone and in controlled airspace must request permis-
until the area was clear. However, police and military as part of the European Commission’s new aviation sion from air traffic authorities and fly no higher than
helicopters sent to the area did not spot the drone. package. 50 metres, depending on the size of the aircraft.
The incident was first reported by the Aviation Herald. Drones caused alarm in France earlier this year when
It cited the pilots as telling air traffic controllers they Among the few member states with specific regula- several flights were spotted operating over sensitive
“should take care of your airspace” and “it is really tions, Germany in June introduced new rules that sites in Paris. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr sees op-
quite dangerous”. prevent the use of drones within 1.5 km of airport portunities for the group in the field of commercial
perimeter fences. drones, saying last month Lufthansa’s maintenance and
With the use of commercial drones for applications Anyone wishing to fly a drone beyond that exclusion pilot training units could provide expertise.
from filming to sports events and agriculture boom-
ing, the European Union is currently working on new Wednesday, July 22 2015 - ARUBA TRAVELLER
regulations for drones to protect the safety and privacy
of its citizens.

10 INTERNATIONAL