Man pleads guilty to endangering an aircraft

In what is believed to be one of the first cases of its kind in the UK, a Derbyshire man has pleaded guilty to "endangering aircraft" after flying his drone "dangerously close" to a Second World War plane.

49-year-old Mark Bagguley pleaded guilty to the charge before magistrates in Chesterfield, after the incident during a Battle of Britain memorial flypast in front of 20,000 people at the Buxton Carnival last July.

Mr Bagguley, of Buxton, was said to have nearly caused a "serious accident" after images emerged of the drone at the Royal Air Force's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, flying close to the wing of a Hawker Hurricane fighter. At the time, the flypast had been protected by short-term airspace restrictions meaning no aircraft, including drones, could be flown in the area.

Police identified Mr Bagguley as the drone operator and arrested and charged him with endangering an aircraft and operating out of the visual line of sight -  to which he also pleaded guilty. 

Derbyshire Constabulary described Mr Bagguley's actions as "illegal and totally unacceptable" and said it believed the case to be "one of the first of its kind" in the country. Flight safety manager for the Derbyshire Constabulary drone team, Pc Matt Moore, said: "Anyone using a drone must follow the rules to make sure they fly safely. As a police drone unit we know the benefits drones can bring to society but people using a drone in this way not only threaten the safety of aircraft and the public, they also damage the future use of drones."

The RAF said that it regularly conducted essential low-flying training across the UK and that drones operating near these exercises offer a significant threat, as it was extremely challenging for aircrew to spot and avoid drones.

Following the case, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warned drone pilots that they must check airspace before flying their craft. The assistant director at the CAA, Jonathan Nicholson, said: "Airspace restrictions, like the one in place for this case, apply to even the smallest drones, so it's really important that people check before they fly. When you use a drone you're sharing the airspace with many other types of aviation, so it's vital that drone users consider the safety of everyone when."

The Johnson Partnership

Derby Crime Solicitors 

01332 370 473