Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what legal autonomous operation of aircraft is allowed during which a remotely piloted aircraft is operated without pilot intervention in the management of the flight.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) policy regarding autonomy in relation to unmanned aircraft is contained in its unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) guidance document, CAP722 (www.caa.co.uk/cap722). To date, the CAA has not received any applications to conduct autonomous UAS operations. Any application received would be extensively investigated and assessed to assure safety before any permissions to fly are issued.
Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many signal failures there have been on the West Coast Main Line in 2017 to date.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
This an operational matter for Network Rail; the Department for Transport does not hold this information.
Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what control there is over the flight of drones in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Article 166 of the UK Air Navigation order (ANO) 2009 requires operators of RPAS to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purposes of avoiding collisions. It also states that an operator may only fly the aircraft if they are reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made.
In addition, Article 138 of the ANO 2009, which also applies to RPAS, states that “a person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property.” This includes persons within another aircraft, and of course the aircraft that those persons are within. The government expects users to understand and comply with this type of regulation which has been made in place for many years, albeit covering the flight of the more traditional model aircraft.
Safety and Security must always be the overriding priority and both commercial and leisure operators most operate drones responsibly and within the rules. I am able to confirm that with regards to the policing and monitoring of such vehicles the Police has provided initial guidance to constabularies across the UK.
Operators of RPAS that collect personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) unless a relevant exemption applies. The requirements of the DPA are regulated by the independent Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures presently exist to control unmanned aerial vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Kramer - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Treasury and Economy)
Civilian Remotely Piloted Aircraft operations are closely regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority and are treated in the same manner as that of equivalent manned aircraft. However, until such time that remotely piloted aircraft systems can demonstrate that they are both airworthy and capable of avoiding other airspace users, all operations must be contained within segregated airspace, to which access for manned aircraft is prevented or closely controlled.
The use of unmanned aircraft is specifically covered by the Air Navigation Order, which legislates for the ‘general’ flying aspects and the flight of those equipped for surveillance. As well as these specific articles, a more general article which prevents a person ‘causing or permitting an aircraft to endanger the safety of any person or property’ also remains applicable.