We’ve heard about how drones can be utilized in delivering supplies to remote locations - but in some emergency situations, they also tend to get in the way.
Tyson Leroy is a pilot at Carilion Lifeguard 11. He was recently dispatched to the site of a tractor trailer accident - and while he was waiting for his crew to give him the word to take off or burn fuel, he noticed something.
“I had an aircraft that rose up from the crowd above me, probably at a lateral distance of 700, 500 feet or so.”
Leroy wasn’t comfortable taking off with an unmanned aircraft around.
“So I contacted the firefighters on the ground, and it was a pretty belabored effort to get them, one, oriented on the aircraft and, two, put on to the operators.”
In this situation, the presence of a drone delayed an otherwise fast-moving scenario - an incident where pace is a necessity of saving a life. But, as Leroy says, the FAA hasn’t really mandated any serious regulations that would prevent interested parties from operating unmanned aircrafts at emergency scenes:
“Well there’s been several guidelines – and that’s part of the problem right there – just so much information coming out in different ways. So, unfortunately, unless you’re really digging, sometimes it’s difficult to find some of the most current regulations or recommendations coming from the FAA.”
So, those at Carilion came up with four key points in allowing ground personnel to aid in keeping emergency scenes safe from drone interference. First, assess:
“A lot of times they’re used to keeping a scan going horizontally because they’re worried about people crossing that perimeter. Well, now we know the easiest way for people to get a camera across that perimeter is from the sky.”
Then, after rapid communication, identify the operator and encourage them encourage them to land.
“It’s not worth us taking the risk, coming inbound with a patient, for you to satisfy your curiosity of what that person may look like.”
Beyond delaying transporting a patient, Leroy says drones can get caught in the helicopter’s tail rotor or smash through the windshield - and hopes that drone hobbyists consider recommended best practices before something more permanent is applied.