22 December 2016 | Comments
APPEAL FOR INFORMATION
St Helena Government is appealing for information in connection with the use of a Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA – or ‘drone’) in Jamestown above the Festival of Lights parade on Tuesday 20 December 2016.
The use of such drones on St Helena must comply with the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013 and the accompanying public guidance on SUA use. In particular:
- You must not fly an SUA over a congested area, within 50 metres of another person, vehicle or building, or within 150 metres of a crowd of 1000 people or more without appropriate permission
- If you intend to use your SUA for any kind of commercial activity – including selling recorded images – you must obtain prior approval from the international regulator, Air Safety Support International (ASSI)
The operator of the SUA during the Festival of Lights was not compliant with these requirements.
Although no formal action will be taken in this case, the Airport Directorate wishes to meet with the operator to ensure that he or she is fully briefed and will be compliant with the restrictions and with best practice in the future.
It would be very much appreciated if the operator, or anybody with knowledge of the operator, could contact Janet Lawrence, Airport Director, on tel. 22477 (work) or tel 24488 (home). All information will be treated in confidence.
Any other SUA operator who requires any guidance is also invited to contact Janet to arrange a briefing.
The public guidelines and restrictions, published three times in 2015 and again this year, are available at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Air-Navigation-Overseas-Territories-Order-Information-for-Public1.pdf
SHG
22 December 2016
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