A Constructive Outcome for Safer Skies: What the Client’s Case Means for UK Drone Pilots

Outcome at a glance

• Count 1 (conviction): Operating an unmanned aircraft close to the site of an ongoing emergency response — Air Navigation Order 2016 Articles 265B(3), 265B(5)(j) and 265F(3)(c) (reflecting UAS.OPEN.060(3)).
• Count 2 (dismissed): Obstructing or hindering emergency workers — Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006, sections 1 and 4 — no case to answer.
• Sentence: £300 (reduced from £2,500). Deprivation order refused — the client’s equipment will be returned.

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Competence, cooperation and public interest flying

The client is an experienced operator with hundreds of hours and thousands of flights, combining sound aviation literacy with routine work around public interest incidents. On the day in question, the client used aircraft tracking tools and air band monitoring, maintained a conservative standoff where no formal cordon existed, and landed promptly when requested by police. This was a measured and safety first response in a dynamic setting.

Lesson 1: Telemetry clarity

When presenting flight data, clarity matters. Plot the flight path with a thin, precise line so the base map remains legible, including fences, road edges, cordons and measured standoffs. A thick line can obscure the very features that prove separation.

• Keep a clean thin line map and a forensic overlay with timestamps for take off, orbit points, return to home and landing, plus measured distances to fixed features.
• Use a thin line that clearly shows accurate telemetry when placed on a map, not a thick line that obscures part of the map.

Lesson 2: Plan for seizure and understand where DJI DAT lives

High fidelity DJI DAT logs are stored on the aircraft and typically require connecting the drone to a computer to extract. If a drone is seized by police, immediate access to those DAT files is difficult.

• Build redundancy: back up app and controller logs after each flight, use screen recordings of the flight user interface, and capture independent stills or video.
• For sensitive assignments, consider periodic DAT offloads in advance.

Five straightforward commitments

1. Thin line telemetry as the default for mapping outputs.
2. Evidence resilience: dual path logging (logs plus screen capture) and periodic DAT offloads.
3. Proportionate communications near emergency activity where appropriate.
4. A simple one page ops note on every job covering airspace, standoffs and abort triggers.
5. Calm, courteous engagement with officers, with a record of powers used and a property schedule if equipment is seized.

Technical reference: cross motorway separation

To contextualise the judge’s description (opposite side of a six lane motorway plus hard shoulder plus verge), the following uses standard UK dimensions.

Assumptions from UK highway standards

• Lane width (motorways): 3.65 m per lane (DMRB CD 127). [1]
• Hard shoulder width: 3.3 m (National Highways). [2]
• Central reservation (median): assume about 3.0 m (DMRB derived guidance). [3]
• Verge: varies by site; on trunk roads, about 3.0 m is common. Use 2.0 to 3.0 m to bracket reality. [4]

Baseline components

• Six lanes = 6 x 3.65 = 21.90 m. [1]
• Two hard shoulders = 6.60 m. [2]
• Central reservation (median) about 3.00 m. [3]
• Verge per side about 2.0 to 3.0 m. [4]

Real world lateral separation (verge to verge)

Distance = 6 lanes + 2 x hard shoulder + 2 x verge + median

• With 2.0 m verges (conservative): 21.90 + 6.60 + 4.00 + 3.00 = 35.50 m
• With 3.0 m verges (typical): 21.90 + 6.60 + 6.00 + 3.00 = 37.50 m

Figure to use: about 37.5 m horizontal separation verge to verge (typical). Lower bound: about 35.5 m if verges are unusually narrow.

Lean reading (narrow phrasing)

Six lanes plus one hard shoulder plus one verge (omitting the median and the opposite side shoulder and verge):

21.90 + 3.30 + (2.0 to 3.0) = 27.2 to 28.2 m

This underestimates the physical cross section that most operators and engineers would use.

Add altitude for slant distance

If height is h, the slant range is sqrt(lateral^2 + h^2).

• With 37.5 m lateral: 48.0 m at 30 m AGL, 70.8 m at 60 m, 125.7 m at 120 m.
• With 35.5 m lateral: 46.5 m at 30 m, 69.2 m at 60 m, 124.2 m at 120 m.

Practical effect: even before adding any field offset inside the field beyond the verge, cross motorway separation is around 36 to 38 m. Any field offset adds to that figure. Slant range increases further with altitude.

Standards: DMRB CD 127, National Highways, TII DN GEO 03036, Transport Scotland.

Bottom line

This is a constructive outcome. The most serious allegation fell away, the fine is modest, and the client retains their equipment. More importantly, the experience is being used to lead on best practice: clearer telemetry, stronger data resilience and exemplary on scene conduct, supporting emergency services, informing the public and keeping UK skies safe.

About the author

Richard Ryan is a Barrister (Direct Access), Mediator and Chartered Arbitrator based in the UK, specialising in drone and counter-drone law, aviation regulation, and complex commercial disputes. He advises operators, insurers and public bodies on SORA/AAE approvals, BVLOS programmes, privacy/data governance, and risk allocation across the drone ecosystem.