Re:Lake fire grew after private drone flights disrupted air ...
by Animats on Friday June 26, 2015 @02:35PM
(#9786784)
Air traffic control around major incidents is covered in [1]. The FAA issues a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) which all Flight Service Stations receive, indicating an incident area, which is usually a lat/long point and a radius. There's a designated incident commander who has control of that airspace, and a way to contact them. Any aircraft not in contact with the incident commander must stay out of the area.
Pilots check NOTAMs before takeoff to see if there's anything going on they need to know about. There's an FAA search engine for NOTAMS [2], and it will accept lat/long coordinates. This is the sort of thing that the basic training and exam for drone operators must cover - check the NOTAMs before flight.
For the San Bernandio Mountains fire, there's a NOTAM:
ZLA LOS ANGELES (ARTCC)PALMDALE, CA.
!FDC 5/6263 ZLA CA..
AIRSPACE SAN BERNARDINO, CA..
TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS WITHIN AREA DEFINED AS 3 NM RADIUS
OF 340927N/1171437W (PARADISE VORTAC PDZ030020.2) SFC-6000FT. TO
PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR FIRE FIGHTING. PURSUANT TO 14 CFR
SECTION 91.137(A)(2) TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT.
USFS TELEPHONE 909-383-5651 OR FREQ 123.775/STERLING FIRE IS IN
CHARGE OF THE OPERATION.
LOS ANGELES /ZLA/ ARTCC TELEPHONE 661-265-8205 IS THE FAA
COORDINATION FACILITY.
EFFECTIVE 1506260700-1507010700
This is the aerial equivalent of traffic cones set out around a trouble spot.
For a pilot, "busting a TFR" (entering an area with restrictions like that) usually means a 30-90 day grounding. For something like actual interference with aerial firefighting, the penalties would be much higher.
There's an app for this.[3] Small drone operators might use a dumbed-down version which just gives you anything applicable to low-altitude operations near your current location.
The sky has many users and traffic rules. Drone operators have to be very aware of this.
Pilots check NOTAMs before takeoff to see if there's anything going on they need to know about. There's an FAA search engine for NOTAMS [2], and it will accept lat/long coordinates. This is the sort of thing that the basic training and exam for drone operators must cover - check the NOTAMs before flight.
For the San Bernandio Mountains fire, there's a NOTAM:
This is the aerial equivalent of traffic cones set out around a trouble spot.For a pilot, "busting a TFR" (entering an area with restrictions like that) usually means a 30-90 day grounding. For something like actual interference with aerial firefighting, the penalties would be much higher.
There's an app for this.[3] Small drone operators might use a dumbed-down version which just gives you anything applicable to low-altitude operations near your current location.
The sky has many users and traffic rules. Drone operators have to be very aware of this.
[1] http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/logistics/references/Airspace_Guide... [2] https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/PilotWeb/ [3] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notams/id354048843