Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority has set a dangerous precedent by announcing plans to deregulate the operation of drones weighing less than 2kg, according to commercial drone operator Andrew Chapman.“We challenge anyone who says a 2kg drone is
harmless to stand in a field while we fly one into them at speed, or sit in a
helicopter hovering nearby while we fly a 2kg drone into its rotor
blades,” Chapman told Australian IT.
He claimed CASA was setting a “dangerous precedent” that would allow
people to flout the current rules and possibly cause serious damage to people
or aircraft.
A CASA spokesman dismissed Chapman’s concerns. “When flown responsibly
under standard operating conditions, these very low-weight remotely-piloted
aircraft pose a relatively low risk of harming people or property on the
ground,” said Peter Gibson.
