{"id":124087,"date":"2017-10-15T23:14:41","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T03:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=124087"},"modified":"2017-10-15T23:14:41","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T03:14:41","slug":"plane-suffered-minor-damage-after-hitting-drone-near-quebec-city-garneau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/10\/15\/plane-suffered-minor-damage-after-hitting-drone-near-quebec-city-garneau\/","title":{"rendered":"Plane suffered minor damage after hitting drone near Quebec City: Garneau"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Astronaut<\/a>
FILE: Astronaut Marc Garneau, Canadian Space Agency mission specialist. (Photo By NASA – http:\/\/spaceflight.nasa.gov\/gallery\/images\/shuttle\/sts-97\/html\/jsc2000-05266.html, Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

QUEBEC — A collision between a commercial aircraft and a drone near Quebec City’s airport last week highlights the potential danger posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, authorities and aircraft experts said Sunday.<\/p>\n

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said he was \u201cextremely preoccupied\u201d to hear that a small Skyjet plane was struck by a drone as it approached the Jean Lesage airport on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should not have happened, that drone should not have been there, and it’s important to point out that aircraft are particularly vulnerable when they’re on final approach,\u201d he told reporters in Montreal.<\/p>\n

Garneau added it was the first recorded incident of a drone hitting a commercial plane in\u00a0Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to remind all people that use drones for recreational purposes that there are rules in place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

An airport spokesman said the plane was arriving from Rouyn-Noranda with eight people aboard when it was struck about three kilometres from the airport.<\/p>\n

Mathieu Claise said the plane landed safely, but he couldn’t comment on the condition of the aircraft or the passengers.<\/p>\n

Greg McConnell, the national chairperson of the Canadian Federal Pilots’ Association, said the incident \u201cwas just a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of drones flying, and there are a lot of people flying drones thinking they’re toys,\u201d he said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n

He said that if a bird hitting an airplane engine can cause an emergency landing or \u201ccatastrophic event,\u201d a drone could do the same.<\/p>\n

Transport\u00a0Canada\u00a0has issued a series of interim safety measures for drone operators as it continues to work to regulate the industry.<\/p>\n

Under these rules, it is illegal to fly a recreational drone within 5.5 kilometres from an airport and 1.8 kilometres from a heliport without special permission.<\/p>\n

Garneau said Sunday that the rules to be introduced in 2018 would include testing for pilots, mandatory identification of drones and an age limit.<\/p>\n

McConnell says he’s glad the federal government is taking steps to regulate drones, though he wonders why it seems to be taking so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things have been around since the 1990s,\u201d he said. \u201cLet’s get a move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the damage from Thursday’s collision appears to have been minor, Garneau said his department was taking the incident seriously.<\/p>\n

He said they were following the situation in partnership with airport officials, Quebec City police, NAV\u00a0CANADA\u00a0and the Transportation Safety Board of\u00a0Canada.<\/p>\n

The news release stated that anyone who is found to have endangered the safety of an aircraft could face a $25,000 fine or prison time.<\/p>\n

It said 1,596 drone incidents have been reported to Transport\u00a0Canada\u00a0in 2017, and 131 of them were deemed aviation safety concerns.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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