Public told to leave drones at home if they go to Abbotsford Airshow

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Police and organizers of the Abbotsford International Airshow urge the public to leave their drones at home if they plan to attend the show this weekend.

A joint news release from Abbotsford police and the airshow says drone detection equipment will be used during the show and if a drone is spotted, police will be notified.

Brian Fentiman with Blue Force UAV says Abbotsford police are using his drone-detection gear to keep the skies clear.

“We’re monitoring an area of about five nautical miles around the airport, so if drones come up in that space we’ll be alerted,” he says. “We will be alerted to exactly where the drone is and where the pilot is.”

Fentiman says the drone operator wouldn’t have enough time to react if a drone intercepts the path of an aircraft in the show.

“It only takes a split second for an aircraft to be on a collision course with a drone,” he says. “You can imagine if a drone weighing only six or seven pounds going through the windscreen of an aircraft at high-speed, the results can be devastating.”

The technology monitors the radio signals from the drone and intercepts the information to the ground-controller.

“It’s able to plot the drone. It’s able to tell the model of the drone, how high it is, how fast it’s travelling, to records it’s complete flight path after detection,” Fentiman says.

The statement says drones have been detected at several airshows across Canada over the last year, causing significant safety risks to pilots, aircraft and anyone attending the shows.

Airshow spokesperson Jadene Mah says spectators must be able to enjoy the experience without having to worry about the consequences of a drone-related accident.

Transport Canada classifies drones as aircraft and the person operating the craft as a remote pilot.

Flying a drone near an airport or in close proximity to other aircraft is illegal.

The Abbotsford airshow continues until Aug. 11 and features the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, a CF-18 Hornet demonstration and heritage planes.

The Canadian Press

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