Gatwick airport closed by drones

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#2149971 24-Dec-2018 13:06

shk292:

old3eyes:

Wonder if they got name suppression over there??

Name suppression doesn't seem to be such a thing in countries other than NZ. If you're arrested/charged for an offence in the UK and other countries, you'd expect your name to be published unless there are good reasons not to (eg protection of children).

Name suppression as of right is only given to victims of sexual offences in the UK I think - it has to be specifically ordered by a judge otherwise - oddly even if their allegations are not proved. Meanwhile the accused gets no such protection and is usually named from day 1.

amiga500

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#2150113 24-Dec-2018 16:01

May watch BBC tv news, or BBC World News radio app later on, & see if they have any updates.

Bung

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#2150119 24-Dec-2018 16:27

This is starting to sound like a case of deja mistaken vu. In July last year Gatwick had another "drone" incident that went from large industrial drone to possibly a plastic bag.

kingdragonfly

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#2150192 24-Dec-2018 18:23

Inspector Clouseau arrives at Gatwick airport to take over investigation

amiga500

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#2150234 24-Dec-2018 19:54

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8041051/motorist-saw-gatwick-drone-pilot/

'Paul Motts says he saw a man in hi-vis clothing packing two craft into a rucksack before racing off on a bike'

They have a photo of Paul Motts & from the photo he looks to be a fairly credible citizen - so worth a read if you want to.

blakamin

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#2150242 24-Dec-2018 20:38

amiga500:

They have a photo of Paul Motts & from the photo he looks to be a fairly credible citizen -

Seriously????????

So not much "judge a book by its cover" from you then?

I used to know a lawyer... Looked like a fairly credible citizen.

Was a heroin addict and a thief though.

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#2150265 24-Dec-2018 22:35

amiga500:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8041051/motorist-saw-gatwick-drone-pilot/

'Paul Motts says he saw a man in hi-vis clothing packing two craft into a rucksack before racing off on a bike'

They have a photo of Paul Motts & from the photo he looks to be a fairly credible citizen - so worth a read if you want to.

Also from the article

Paul ... and wife Shelagh had been driving to a Tory dinner

All of a sudden, he doesn't sound so credible.

kingdragonfly

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#2150333 25-Dec-2018 06:56

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/gatwick-airport-drone-suspect-seen-13765840

Gatwick Airport drone 'suspect seen packing craft into bag before fleeing on bike'

An eyewitness claims he saw a drone pilot near Gatwick Airport packing two craft into a bag before fleeing on a bicycle.

Paul Motts, 52, reportedly claims to have seen the pilot dressed in high-visibility clothing on a rural road four miles from the airport.

Mr Motts, who says he saw a suspect aged in his 30s at 6.30pm on Thursday, described how he was packing away two drones measuring 4ft and 2ft into a rucksack.

EDF energy manager Mr Motts told The Sun: “I was delivering a parcel and drove past a suspicious man in fluorescent cycling gear crouching over a large drone which was all lit up.

“He was leaning over and doing something to it. He was totally focused and did not look up when I drove past.

“It looked like he was packing the drones away ,two minutes later we turned around and came across him cycling away, I expect he wanted to disassemble the drone as quickly as possible and get away as fast as he could."

amiga500

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#2150604 26-Dec-2018 05:48

blakamin:

amiga500:

They have a photo of Paul Motts & from the photo he looks to be a fairly credible citizen -

Seriously????????

So not much "judge a book by its cover" from you then?

I used to know a lawyer... Looked like a fairly credible citizen.

Was a heroin addict and a thief though.

I thought he was probably genuine because by allowing The Sun newspaper (of all British papers!) to run his photo and story, exposed himself to a life of ridicule and shame if it was all made up! Not only that he might have been in legal trouble for wasting police time.

Geektastic

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#2150639 26-Dec-2018 09:34

frankv:
amiga500:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8041051/motorist-saw-gatwick-drone-pilot/

'Paul Motts says he saw a man in hi-vis clothing packing two craft into a rucksack before racing off on a bike'

They have a photo of Paul Motts & from the photo he looks to be a fairly credible citizen - so worth a read if you want to.

Also from the article

Paul ... and wife Shelagh had been driving to a Tory dinner

All of a sudden, he doesn't sound so credible.

Yes because a man's politics certainly define his credibility, especially when he's associating with one of the two mainstream political parties...

Bung

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#2150652 26-Dec-2018 10:13

I'd find it more credible if the papers were reporting a Police report that Motts had gone to them with the sighting. I'd be even more impressed if he or his wife had attempted to photograph this mysterious cyclist. As it is I don't think a drone being launched 4 miles away from the airfield makes sense. That's probably maximum range and wouldn't give the operator eyes on what the Police were doing. We'll see if Motts and his wife stick to the same script.

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mattwnz

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#2150739 26-Dec-2018 16:31

All this fake news I guess sells papers and gets clicks. How many people have been killed by a drone? Already companies like DJI place restrictions on the height they can fly etc. Maybe if they brought in laws that made it illegal to try to get around those restrictions, that could be a good idea. But there is now a huge phobia about drones led by the media, because it gets clicks. Similar to all these stories about earthquakes, or it is still possible for a 20 year old to buy a first home etc, beucase it gets clicks and sells papers and realestate agents are one of the biggest advertisers in paper.

I am no sure if there have been any planes that have hit a drone to date, and would that likely cause much more damage than hit a bird, such as a albatross, or a swarm of birds? I think there have been some stories where people have claimed they have been hit by a drone, but it was never proven. People need to put these risks into perspective because it is probably more a of risky dying from almost anything else, including just crossing the road, or air pollution from walking down the street, or riding an e scooter

rb99

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#2150743 26-Dec-2018 16:47

Reminds me of this...

If Americans want to be safe they should obviously ban Americans from entering their borders (but at some point there probably will be tighter drone controls, as they learn from the experiences of their friends from across the pond)

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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#2150745 26-Dec-2018 16:49

Where did you get the image from? Thanks

rb99

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#2150746 26-Dec-2018 16:53

From Huff Post -

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/todd-r-miller/the-freakonomics-of-extre_b_11821634.html

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

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