A man has been charged with 17 offences related to allegedly flying a drone over landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, the Queen Victoria memorial outside Buckingham Palace and several football stadiums.
Nigel Wilson, 42, is due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on 16 April over alleged offences under the the Air Navigation Order 2009.
According to one charge he allegedly failed to sufficiently monitor the flight of a drone on the north bank of the Thames on 27 September last year, creating the risk of a collision with the Shard and/or HMS Belfast. That was the same day Wilson, from Nottingham, allegedly flew a drone over the Palace of Westminster and Queen Victoria memorial, creating the risk of collision with parliament and Buckingham Palace.
All of the incidents are said to have taken place last year – 15 in September and one each in October and December.
Four of the charges relate to Anfield, home to Liverpool football club, three to Derby County’s Pride Park, two each to Leicester City’s King Power stadium and Nottingham Forest’s City ground, and one each to Manchester City’s Etihad stadium, Arsenal’s Emirates stadium and Stoke City’s Britannia ground.
Most of the alleged offences at football grounds took place during matches, including the north London derby between Arsenal and Spurs, attended by 60,000 people on 27 September, and Liverpool’s game with Aston Villa on 13 September, which attracted a crowd of 45,000 people.
Under the Air Navigation Order 2009, people must get permission from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly drones – also known as unmanned aerial vehicles – over or within 150 metres of any congested area, over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons, or within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.
The drone operator must also maintain direct, unaided visual contact with it to avoid collisions with other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures.
Source: The Guardian