Is five years imprisonment enough for flying drone near an airport?
April 18 2016 By Abiodun Giwa
When an aircraft was brought down in Ukraine airspace sometime ago, fingers were pointed at the Russians in a war against Ukraine, but no one has confirmed that Russia has in any way made to be responsible for the mass loss of humans on that plane.
Up to this moment, no one knows what may have happened to the Air Malaysia that disappeared between Malaysia and China. But when a drown is reported to have come close to an aircraft or the pilot says it actually touched it approaching the Heatrow Airport in London, it is enough to raise eyebrows, as it is currently happening.
A pilot who flew the aircraft into the Heatrow Airport said a drone came in contact with the front of the aircraft that had about 132 passengers aboard. The good news is that the aircraft landed safely with no incident, else the story would have been different. Reports said that flying a drown near an airport attracts five years imprisonment. The question is whether five years imprisonment is enough to deter people from flying drones near the airport?
A respondent in new York city says it is crazy getting five years for that. "He shouldn't get more than one minute for that." Do you think one minute is enough as deterrence for flying a drone near an airport?
One respondent said five years is appropriate to deter such act of flying a drone near an airport, but said that depending on whether the drone was flown around an airport at an airport. He that if the drown was flown at the airport, the security needs questioning or shaken up. But hat if the drone was flown at a place not at the airport in an air space that causes its contact with an aircraft, he said a fine might all right. However, he said if the drone should bring down an aircraft and kill people in the aircraft, that would be a different case.
"In the first place, it is not illegal to fly a drone. But if the drone has caused an accident and death, it would have been a very serious case. A monetary fine of 25,000 is all right. And if the perpetrator cannot pay the fine, he or she may be made to go to jail as an alternative.
What do you think? With recent aircraft disappearances from the air, do you think five years is enough as deterrence to drone fliers to save precious lives of air travelers, or is five years too much for flying a drone capable of causing problem for air travelers? Should drone be allowed at all in our communities, since we are not in a war with ourselves?
We hear about drones being used to target terrorists by advanced countries and there has been complaints about the use of drown as an instrument of war for its occasional missing of targets and leading to the death of innocent people. There is also the case of paparazzi using the drone to take photographs of celebrities without their consent. Should the society wait until a drone causes the downing of an aircraft with many passengers before we act to stop mass drones use in our commuinities?