In Enschede, The Netherlands a medical helicopter changed its route because of a drone. The medical helicopter with someone in a life threatening situation was flying to the local hospital when suddenly a large drone appeared out of nowhere. The drone was flying in a drone prohibited area around the hospital. The helicopter did not collide with the drone, but an accident was very close. In The Netherlands there are a lof of other areas where flying a drone is not legal like near airports, above highways and certain natural parks. To make sure this does not happen again and no people die because they did not receive medical attention on time, the government could do several things. Here are some examples of what the government can do to prevent drones from getting any near to (medical) helicopters: 1 the government can give longer prison sentences to the ones who neglect the law and thus safety. 2 the government could install systems on the medical helicopter which would demolish the GPS of the drone when the drone gets let’s say in a radius of 15 meters near the helicopter. A similar system is used in the airplanes of presidents, but the difference is that the system defends against missiles. So why not use a anti drone system to protect the people who are extra vulnerable?
Learning from failures