Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

[Travel] Drones spotted at LGW.



Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
59,208
The Fatherland
Has Gatwick reopened?
 


Mr Putdown

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2004
2,899
Christchurch
Whew. What a day. One early Gatwick cancelled flight. Then I purchased a teatime flight to LHR which was late. Spent ages circling over London before the pilot decided it might be an idea to land. Then tube trains were shit. But, now on the train to Brighton 10 hours late. Given some stories I think I got off lightly.

Good luck to all other travellers.

Good man, top travelling.
 




Whitechapel

Famous Last Words
Jul 19, 2014
4,056
Not in Whitechapel






Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,992
Goldstone
Speaking to a mate who works at LGW in security. He seems to think another reason it hasn’t been shot down is because they can’t be sure that it’s not carrying explosives. Could lead to an almighty problem if it was.
Surely if it has explosives, it would be better to shoot it when it's well clear of people, than let the pilot detonate it at a time and location of their choosing?
 




PILTDOWN MAN

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Sep 15, 2004
18,608
Hurst Green




Cotton Socks

Skint Supporter
Feb 20, 2017
1,640
I'm just catching up with events, this is what i can gather...
Gatwick has been closed for nearly 24 hours because of a drone. Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded, can't travel or are being diverted to here there and everywhere.
The last sighting was around 12pm. It has apparently 'buzzed the tower' & 30 people from an office saw it, but no one thought to film it. There are no pictures or videos of it. The army have been called in.
Is Gatwick going to stay closed until they can find the drone?
 


The Wookiee

Back From The Dead
Nov 10, 2003
14,826
Worthing
Speaking to a mate who works at LGW in security. He seems to think another reason it hasn’t been shot down is because they can’t be sure that it’s not carrying explosives. Could lead to an almighty problem if it was.

That would make sense also could be why no real explaination hasn’t been given.

Imagine the panic from thousands of people at Gatwick if the police announced they thought there may be explosives in the drones ?

I think this is going to roll on as it’s not as simple as some kid mucking about with a toy In Charlwood
 


Poojah

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2010
1,881
Leeds
Well, on the surface this is an incredibly frustrating, upsetting and potentially costly situation for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught up in it, I fear the bigger picture is a lot more serious than that.

Complex or not, the apparent inability of our authorities and now even the military to deal with something as rudimentary as a drone is not only highly embarrassing, it’s almost an open invitation to would-be terrorists to come and have a pop at our airports. I imagine one of the main deterrents to attacking an airport and / or aircraft is the perceived level of security which protects them.

This is now a pretty public, global advertisement that they are in fact perhaps not as secure as we all thought. I’m admittedly no expert on the matter, however surely it should simply not be this easy to bring an entire, major international airport to a complete standstill. Where the hell was the contingency plan for something like this?

And it’s not just about airports - there has to be a complete and sudden change to the laws surrounding drones. If you have the means to make an explosive device, and let’s not forget that a teenager from Manchester was able to make an incredibly devastating one only recently, then what’s to stop a group from flying a number of bomb-laden drones into a football stadium or shopping centre? It could be absolute carnage.

I appreciate that counter-terrorism will always be a game of cat and mouse. The idea of 9/11 was inconceivable prior to those atrocities. But in this case, the potential consequences are so abundantly and blindingly obvious.

Let’s take one positive from this and take heed before something far more sinister takes place. Because if we don’t, it’s only a matter of time...
 




Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
23,714
GOSBTS
Complex or not, the apparent inability of our authorities and now even the military to deal with something as rudimentary as a drone is not only highly embarrassing, it’s almost an open invitation to would-be terrorists to come and have a pop at our airports. I imagine one of the main deterrents to attacking an airport and / or aircraft is the perceived level of security which protects them.

This is now a pretty public, global advertisement that they are in fact perhaps not as secure as we all thought. I’m admittedly no expert on the matter, however surely it should simply not be this easy to bring an entire, major international airport to a complete standstill. Where the hell was the contingency plan for something like this?

And it’s not just about airports - there has to be a complete and sudden change to the laws surrounding drones. If you have the means to make an explosive device, and let’s not forget that a teenager from Manchester was able to make an incredibly devastating one only recently, then what’s to stop a group from flying a number of bomb-laden drones into a football stadium or shopping centre? It could be absolute carnage.

Given this drone operator has broken many laws already, what additional laws do you think might deter he/she/them ?

Also drones have been used for terror attacks in the Middle East for years, hell we send remote drones hundreds of miles to bomb ISIS hideouts. Any terrorist with any real intent would already be aware of a drones capabilities
 


Poojah

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2010
1,881
Leeds
Given this drone operator has broken many laws already, what additional laws do you think might deter he/she/them ?

Also drones have been used for terror attacks in the Middle East for years, hell we send remote drones hundreds of miles to bomb ISIS hideouts. Any terrorist with any real intent would already be aware of a drones capabilities

Sorry, in terms of the law I was thinking more in terms of control of ownership, I agree asking people nicely to obey exclusion zones is an utterly pointless exercise.

In terms of awareness, again my point is not that it would have taken a creative genius to think up harmful ways of using a drone, but rather how susceptible a seemingly ‘secure’ country like the UK is to them. It’s embarrassing.
 


Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,575
Back in Sussex
Complex or not, the apparent inability of our authorities and now even the military to deal with something as rudimentary as a drone is not only highly embarrassing

It sounds like a/the drone(s) have only been about 3 or 4 times from what I've read. The reports I've read certainly don't make it sound like the drone(s) have been buzzing about continually for most of the last 24 hours whilst the UK's finest watched quizzically from the ground wondering what to do about it.

Given shooting it out of the sky doesn't seem to be a viable option due to the concern of where bullets may end up, it sounds as though the only practical way of dealing with this is tracing the drone to its "home" to find the perpetrator. The bigger drones can be controlled from quite some distance away so without having someone in the air, in a helicopter, to try and follow it.

I'm sidestepping the talk of tech that will force a drone home or out of the sky, as it seems that we haven't implemented that, assuming it works as described in some reports today.
 




TheJasperCo

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2012
4,590
Exeter
Plot twist: imagine if a disgruntled passenger or member of staff is controlling the drone from within the terminal building itself.
 




Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
59,208
The Fatherland
Well, on the surface this is an incredibly frustrating, upsetting and potentially costly situation for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught up in it, I fear the bigger picture is a lot more serious than that.

Complex or not, the apparent inability of our authorities and now even the military to deal with something as rudimentary as a drone is not only highly embarrassing, it’s almost an open invitation to would-be terrorists to come and have a pop at our airports. I imagine one of the main deterrents to attacking an airport and / or aircraft is the perceived level of security which protects them.

This is now a pretty public, global advertisement that they are in fact perhaps not as secure as we all thought. I’m admittedly no expert on the matter, however surely it should simply not be this easy to bring an entire, major international airport to a complete standstill. Where the hell was the contingency plan for something like this?

And it’s not just about airports - there has to be a complete and sudden change to the laws surrounding drones. If you have the means to make an explosive device, and let’s not forget that a teenager from Manchester was able to make an incredibly devastating one only recently, then what’s to stop a group from flying a number of bomb-laden drones into a football stadium or shopping centre? It could be absolute carnage.

I appreciate that counter-terrorism will always be a game of cat and mouse. The idea of 9/11 was inconceivable prior to those atrocities. But in this case, the potential consequences are so abundantly and blindingly obvious.

Let’s take one positive from this and take heed before something far more sinister takes place. Because if we don’t, it’s only a matter of time...

I share some of your thoughts. I will be interested to know what laws and controls etc are in place in other countries and major airports. Could a drone do this in NYC? And why has it taken so long for someone to do this? Drones have been around for a long time now
 


Lyndhurst 14

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2008
5,114
Complex or not, the apparent inability of our authorities and now even the military to deal with something as rudimentary as a drone is not only highly embarrassing, it’s almost an open invitation to would-be terrorists to come and have a pop at our airports. I imagine one of the main deterrents to attacking an airport and / or aircraft is the perceived level of security which protects them.

I worked at Gatwick some time ago and I think you pretty soon realised that all the security measures are really just there to give you an illusion of safety. Even with the high tech improvements that have been made since anybody who is determined enough will find a way to crack the system – as this person has clearly demonstrated. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
 




drew

Drew
Oct 3, 2006
23,008
Burgess Hill
How long before the Mail accuses Jeremy Corbyn of flying the drone.

“I’ll give that ‘Stupid woman’ something to really get upset about “ he was seen to mouth, under his breath.

Typical Mail. He was asked what he was doing in Costa and replied he was 'trying the scone' and now look what they're trying to imply!
 


Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Aug 25, 2011
63,410
Withdean area
I'm just catching up with events, this is what i can gather...
Gatwick has been closed for nearly 24 hours because of a drone. Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded, can't travel or are being diverted to here there and everywhere.
The last sighting was around 12pm. It has apparently 'buzzed the tower' & 30 people from an office saw it, but no one thought to film it. There are no pictures or videos of it. The army have been called in.
Is Gatwick going to stay closed until they can find the drone?

One of the news channels this evening showed film of one of the drones mid air. Gatwick confirmed that there were more than one. Most probably an orchestrated event by people who dropped off the hardware, then are operating these industrial quality drones remotely from a long way away. Deliberately keeping them hidden and grounded, until Gatwick mention a possible opening time, them up in the air again. The first such ‘attack’ in global aviation. These are not tiny plastic toys operated by kids. Good that safety is the priority.
 



Paying the bills

Latest Discussions

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports


Top
Link Here