A 'reckless' drone pilot has avoided jail and been slapped with a £3,000 fine after endangering a historic WWII plane.
Max Bagguley was in control of the drone when it flew dangerously close to the wing of a Hawker Hurricane as it flew 365ft over Buxton, Derbyshire last July as part of the town's annual carnival. The 49-year-old flew the drone while a no-fly restriction had been implemented and was only caught when a local photographer on the ground spotted it, initially believing it was a bird.
Prosecutor Annabel Lenton told Derby Crown Court that it is believed to be the first case of its kind in the UK. The photographer went to edit the object out of the picture before realising it was a drone so he reported it to the Civil Aviation Authority.
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Sentencing Bagguley to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordering him to pay a fine of £3,000, judge Jonathan Bennett said on Thursday: “This is an unusual case. I have never encountered such an unusual offence as either a solicitor or judge.
“It was mind-blowingly reckless, particularly in the case of an intelligent, middle-aged man. He is no youngster messing about with a new toy.”
Miss Lenton said the carnival was being watched by around 15,000 to 20,000 people. Bagguley had no related convictions and owned a licence and insurance.
The father-of-two pleaded guilty in January to endangering an aircraft and operating an aircraft out of the visual line of sight. PC Matthew Moore, a flight safety officer with the force, was called to answer questions in court about drone legislation.
He highlighted that drones are only allowed to fly up to 400ft from the nearest point to the ground without special permission and are not allowed to fly over a crowd of people. The Hawker Hurricane, flying from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to Blackpool Airport in Lancashire, flew as low as 365ft and at speeds of up to 230mph during the flypast, though the pilot never saw the drone.
The Dronesafe app, which provides users with information around no-fly zones and restrictions, had shown for weeks priot to the carnival that a ban would be in place. Laura Boome, mitigating said Bagguley checked Dronesafe - which is not mandatory - earlier that day.
However, due to "internet issues" he was unable to check the times of the restriction. He decided to fly the device anyway under the impression he had around 45 minutes before the restriction came into force.
She said: “He should at that point have abandoned the flight altogether.
“Once the drone was in the air, upon seeing the plane, he did realise his error and did halt the drone.”
She added: “Mr Bagguley knows his negligent actions could have had very serious consequences and that is something that has been weighing very heavily on his mind.
“It is, fortunately, a case in which no harm was caused and no damage was caused to any property and the event went ahead without incident.”
Bagguley apologised for his “reckless actions” in a letter read out in a previous hearing. He said: “I wish to state my gratitude and relief that there was no contact with the Hurricane. I owe the pilot an apology for putting the pilot and others at risk on that day and can only thank God that no incident occurred.”
Alongside the fine and suspended sentence, Bagguley must pay £450 in costs, a £187 victim surcharge and complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also serve a 12-week curfew at his home address in Chatsworth Road, Fairfield, from 8pm to 5.30am each day.
Speaking outside court after sentencing, Pc Moore said there would have “without a doubt been fatalities” had the drone collided with the plane.
He said: “Mr Bagguley’s actions on the day were completely unjust and irresponsible. For anybody to fly a drone over an event like this, when there is such a historic flight flying over, is what people would call idiotic or just downright silly.”
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