Fire crews and a helicopter battle a blazing scrub fire at Pines Beach, North Canterbury in January. A drone operator who was shooting footage in the area on the same day has been prosecuted for flying without permission.The drone pilot who recorded footage close to the scene of the fire has been convicted of breaching controlled airspace.
Simon Roy Reeve, 38, has been convicted on three charges involving flying his drone at Pines Beach, north of Christchurch, after a three-day judge-alone Christchurch District Court trial last month.
Judge Gary MacAskill announced his findings on Friday morning.
He convicted Reeve, 38, on charges of causing danger by operating his drone on January 5, and guilty of breaching controlled airspace on January 5 and 20.
He remanded Reeve at large – no bail was required – for sentence. A date for the sentencing had not yet been settled.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which brought the prosecution, and defence counsel Rupert Glover would make submissions ahead of the sentencing.
The judge accepted Reeve was not flying the drone at the same time a helicopter was fighting a fire at Pines Beach.
The trial was shown aerial footage taken by the 2-kilogram drone during its flight at Pines Beach. The beach was close to Kaiapoi where Reeve lived.
Footage taken by Reeve’s Phantom II remotely piloted aircraft system – RPAS, or drone – was shown on television news.
Judge MacAskill ruled that Reeve had caused danger to the helicopter and its pilot at the time of the helicopter’s landing approach.
At one point, the helicopter and drone would have been about 120 metres apart and there had been a possibility they would collide.
The judge also found it proved – with evidence from the drone’s videos – that the drone had intruded into controlled airspace without permission.
The case is the first the CAA has launched against a drone operator.
Source: stuff