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Drones Prompt Closure of U.K. Airport, Delaying Thousands of Passengers
KTLA ^ | 12/20/2018

Posted on 12/20/2018 8:31:59 AM PST by BenLurkin

Thousands of passengers were delayed, diverted or stuck on planes Thursday as the only runway at Britain’s Gatwick Airport remained closed into a second day after drones were spotted over the airfield.

The airport south of London — Britain’s second-busiest by passenger numbers — closed its runway Wednesday evening after two drones were spotted. It reopened briefly at about 3 a.m. Thursday, but shut 45 minutes later after further sightings.

The airport said all incoming and outgoing flights were suspended. Passengers were advised to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport, where many slept on floors or formed long lines at information desks.

Police said the drone flights were a “deliberate act to disrupt the airport,” but that there were “absolutely no indications to suggest this is terror-related.”

(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...


TOPICS: United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: airport; drones; gatwick; london

1 posted on 12/20/2018 8:31:59 AM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

Terrorist test run? 1 lbs of C4 on a drone could do a lot of damage.


2 posted on 12/20/2018 8:35:30 AM PST by taxcontrol
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To: BenLurkin

It’s easy for me to say, but, can’t they shoot down drones in restricted airspace? Drones buzzing around can disrupt major airoirts, and then cause chain reactions through the air traffic systems????


3 posted on 12/20/2018 8:39:18 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: BenLurkin

Clearly the military needs some attack drones to take down this trespassing drones. Bang. Now we have a drone-war.


4 posted on 12/20/2018 8:40:40 AM PST by mad puppy (E PLURIBUS UNUM)
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To: mad puppy

It could have been a cover for a snatch-and-grab operation Or
arrests


5 posted on 12/20/2018 8:48:56 AM PST by fudimo
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I bet you could get some volunteers for some expensive skeet shooting.


6 posted on 12/20/2018 8:49:04 AM PST by BBQToadRibs
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To: taxcontrol

Seems like the head in the sand syndrome is running rampant with people. Guess most everyday folks walking around in condition green have little to no clue just how easily things can go to crap. Or how quickly. Paranoid or simply prepared?


7 posted on 12/20/2018 8:56:44 AM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: taxcontrol

Good way to bring down an airliner on approach. Sit in the bushes w 1 drone large enough to carry C4 and wham. This is a scenario Tom Clancy would write.


8 posted on 12/20/2018 9:09:23 AM PST by DownInFlames (Galsd)
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To: BenLurkin
I live near Albuquerque, NM, and every year the city hosts a Balloon Fiesta in the north part of the city. This year the FAA issued a no-fly zone warning for the Fiesta targeting drones and setting a no-fly zone around the Fiesta launching grounds.

They had some equipment there that could identify drones via the radio signal, and trace it.

Here's a link to a story that tells of the equipment being used: https://www.krqe.com/news/balloon-fiesta/hundreds-violate-faa-s-no-drone-fly-zone-at-balloon-fiesta/1510662538

9 posted on 12/20/2018 9:13:57 AM PST by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: BenLurkin

Letting the public buy drones was a stupid move.


10 posted on 12/20/2018 9:36:00 AM PST by I want the USA back (There are two sexes: male (pronoun HE), and female (pronoun SHE). Denial of this is insanity.)
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To: DownInFlames

No need for c four. Just fly into an engine.


11 posted on 12/20/2018 9:46:17 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: IYAS9YAS

I was going into GSO earlier this year, at around 4000’ and 200+ kts, when one of these buzzed by us a couple of hundred yards away.

If it had hit the cockpit, I likely would not be here.


12 posted on 12/20/2018 10:00:23 AM PST by phormer phrog phlyer
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To: BenLurkin

There is an interceptor drone on the market that that flies above a targeted drone and drops a net on it bringing it down. But it’s way to cheap for government procurement programs.


13 posted on 12/20/2018 10:01:08 AM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: BenLurkin
"No need for c four. Just fly into an engine."

With a large nut our bolt attached.

14 posted on 12/20/2018 10:03:22 AM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: BenLurkin

Londistan muzzies, no doubt. None at all.


15 posted on 12/20/2018 10:38:40 AM PST by PhiloBedo (You gotta roll with the punches, and get with what's real.)
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To: BenLurkin

According to the BBC, “Police said the drone activity was not terror-related”. If the Police don’t know who is behind these “industrial-specification” drones then obviously they cannot know whether or not it might be terror-related. Usual self-delusion emanating the British police.

On a related matter, apparently Germany’s Stuttgart airport is closed this evening a terror-related alert.


16 posted on 12/20/2018 12:51:26 PM PST by Mr Radical (In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act)
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