Man charged for flying drones over British landmarks, stadia

A man has been charged in Britain with flying a drone over major landmarks in the country, including the Houses of Parliament, the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace and several football stadia, a media report said Wednesday.

Nigel Wilson, 42, from Nottingham, was charged with 17 offences committed last year related to flying drones over the British landmarks and stadia, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

According to one charge, he allegedly failed to sufficiently monitor the flight of a drone on the north bank of the Thames on September 27 last year, creating the risk of a collision with the Shard (an 87-storey skyscraper in London) and/or HMS Belfast (a museum ship permanently moored in London on the river Thames).

That was the same day that Wilson allegedly flew a drone over the Palace of Westminster and Queen Victoria Memorial, creating the risk of collision with the parliament and the Buckingham Palace.

He has also been accused of flying drones over noted British football stadia, like Anfield, home to Liverpool football club, Manchester City's Etihad stadium, Arsenal's Emirates stadium and Stoke City's Britannia ground among others.

Most of the alleged offences at football grounds took place during matches, including the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, attended by 60,000 people on September 27, and Liverpool's game with Aston Villa on September 13, which attracted a crowd of 45,000 people.

Under the Air Navigation Order 2009, people must get permission from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly drones -- also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- over or within 150 metres of any congested area, organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons, or within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.

The drone operator must also maintain direct, unaided visual contact with it to avoid collisions with other aircrafts, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures.

Even small UAVs can weigh around seven kg and cause damage or injury if they fall from a height.

In April last year, 46-year-old Robert Knowles became the first person to be convicted in Britain for "dangerously" flying a drone after he pleaded guilty to flying a small unmanned surveillance aircraft within 50 metres of the Jubilee bridge on the Walney channel, and flying over a nuclear installation, the BAE Systems submarine-testing facility.

He was fined 800 pounds (nearly $1,200) and ordered to pay costs of 3,500 pounds.

Earlier this month, a Lords report recommended that a database of civilian drones in Britain should be created to enforce their safe operation.