Has Gatwick reopened?
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[Travel] Drones spotted at LGW.
- Thread starter AmexRuislip
- Start date
Mr Putdown
Well-known member
Good man, top travelling.
The Wookiee
Back From The Dead
Nothing til at least 6am
Whitechapel
Famous Last Words
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.
It’s the Missus turn tomorrow!
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?
chimneys
Well-known member
- Jun 11, 2007
- 3,609
Strange, bordering on insensitive, question fella?! A 2 second click on BBC News will tell you the very obvious answer and underline many many people aren’t in your privileged position!!
Good
Cotton Socks
Skint Supporter
- Feb 20, 2017
- 2,156
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?
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
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
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...
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...
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.
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
Plot twist: imagine if a disgruntled passenger or member of staff is controlling the drone from within the terminal building itself.
I apologize. I was down 'round Gatwick this week and my mrs does say I drone on and on.
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
- 5,241
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.
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
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.