The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is working on regulations for the operation of drones, according to agency head Chaitrani Heeralall, who says users need to be aware of the instrument’s potential hazards when flying in certain zones.
“The users of these drones need to realise that it can impact on the use of air and they need to be cautious when they are operating these instruments…we will soon issue an advisory on that,” Heeralall told Stabroek News yesterday.
Her warnings came in wake of a complaint yesterday by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) that one of its helicopters was buzzed by a drone in the vicinity of Thomas Lands, as it was returning to Base Camp Ayanganna in Georgetown. The GDF said that although a serious accident was averted, the drone continued to follow the chopper.
“In what could have been an otherwise tragic occurrence, a Guyana Defence Force helicopter, GDF 1, landed safely without incident at Camp Ayanganna, after it was “buzzed” by what appeared to be a remote-controlled ‘Drone,’ recently,” the army said in a statement.
“At the time of the incident, the helicopter was making its final approach to Camp Ayanganna, overhead Thomas Lands, in the vicinity of Queen’s College and the National Park. It was reported by the Pilot that the Drone flew dangerously close to the helicopter and also attempted to follow the aircraft,” the statement added.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, under whose ministry the GCAA falls, informed that plans are in train to deal with the operation of drones, which, if left unregulated, can be a serious potential hazard.
“GCAA is aware of the concerns and is working to address the issue,” Patterson said when contacted.
He pointed this newspaper to Heeralall, who said that the GCAA has a draft circular pertaining to safety guidelines and specifications of usage of drones.
“We have a draft circular which we are working on. It speaks to height of operation and so forth though immediately we will issue a circular and put notices in the public, such as in the newspaper, to guide in the use of these drones in sensitive areas,” Heeralall said.
“At the moment, like many other countries, we don’t have regulations for governing the uses of drones and recreational flying instruments not manned. We have nothing because these things are new and so there is nothing to regulate recreational drones and airplanes. Even ICAO [the International Civil Aviation Organisation] doesn’t have regulations, per se, for those recreational flying objects,” she added.
She said that GCAA has analysed models used by other Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica, and is tweaking specifications to suit Guyana in possible legislation.
In the meantime, the GCAA is asking drone operators not to fly over “sensitive areas,” where the risks of hazards are increased, such as near airports, military bases, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Public Buildings and near manned airplanes and helicopters.
The army also noted with concern the frequency of drones being flown in Georgetown, as well as other parts of the country, and it warned that the devices can cause serious, if not fatal, accidents, especially when they are being operated in the airspace allocated to low-flying aircraft. As a result, it urged members of the public against operating the devices in and around military bases. (Marcelle Thomas)
