UK Pilot threatened with a gun

I watched my neighbor get stormed by them last October , they was loud once they was all in position I video’d the stand off it went on for about 40 minuites , they was very quiet until they was in place , then the shouting an the intimidation was immense , however the prick across the road deserved it , shouldn’t walk the street with a samurai sword thinking ya Steven seagull :man_shrugging:t2::smile:

No you didn’t upset me mate , I think we’re all text typing fast here to have our say , I probally read it wrong , I’m a bugger for that :grimacing:

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It was probally Ken cuz Karen’s not puttin out tonight :grin:

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Yea spelt that wrong :rofl: one day I might just get something right !

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They did turn up and arrest the guy with the gun. He admitted shooting in the air. The pilot did “disarm” the guy, and apparently the “gun” went off during the scuffle. He was protecting himself. And maybe he was walking towards his car. This hatred of drones was what he was saying “has to stop”

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I’m still relatively new to all the drone scene , I no a bit but not as experienced as others , why are we hated so much for this hobby we enjoy , we’re not harming anyone , I just don’t get it .

Hyperbolic media and the majority of local authorities getting their knickers in a twist are two major factors.

TBH I’ve never personally seen it. Only had people come up and politely enquire, and take genuine interest. This guy in the video has it all the time apparently as he films houses for estate agents, so is going to hover lower, and closer to neighbours! I don’t fly in urban built up areas, but I guess if he’s low taking pictures the neighbours are going to moan… :frowning: despite what he’s doing being totally legal!

I think we should all get together and do a flypast for him. :smile:

Drone-Army-1-620x355

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That’s not in any way clearly a replica firearm. It’s (hopefully) what is known as a RIF (Realistic Imitation Firearm) and cannot be sold to any member of the public (or made) without a defence in law. Such defences include historical re-enactment (with PLI from a recognised source), Airsoft skirmishing (with membership of a recognised group), Museum exhibits, Dramatic performance. I’m not sure what the requirements for those last two are. There may be other defences, I can’t remember the details.

Right up until it was discharged it could have been a deactivated firearm, which you are actually allowed to purchase… assuming they are correctly deactivated.

Certainly waving it around in public should get the person doing the waving a conviction. Threatening anyone with it should for sure.

Before taking up drones I spent a lot of time learning and understanding the law on these things as the Violent Crime Reduction Act was being passed, which threatened my hobbies at the time, Airsoft and Re-enactment.

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It looks to me to be an air pistol. Which is legal to own without a licence if the discharge force at the muzzle is 6 foot pounds or less. You aren’t allowed to possess it in public without lawful excuse (eg. transit to or from a legitimate shooting site), should have it securely contained while in a public place, and certainly aren’t allowed to threaten someone with it in public or discharge it in public (which he did towards the ground) which are offenses under S19 of the Firearms Act 1968. In any circumstance, whether having it for a lawful purpose in a public place (such as transit) or not, it merely being loaded will make it a chargeable offence.

It’s also a specific offence to discharge an airgun beyond the boundaries of the premises (S21A Firearms Act 1968) - so while it’s legal to fire an airgun in your garden, discharging it up into the air in a manner that it’s likely to come down outside your boundary is an offence in itself too, whether it hits the drone or not. Given the specific nature of this case the CPS and/or courts may also take the view that discharging it up into airspace which he can’t reasonably say is within his premises is part of the offence too.

Brandishing it at someone or threatening them with it is likely to be a breach of S16A of the Firearms Act 1968 too.

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It could well be an air pistol. But it actually looks to have been made to look like a real, modern gun. As such I believe it also falls under the RIF legislation, which means though it is legal to own, its not legal to sell to someone without an appropriate defense.

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And probably not legal to walk out on street threatening someone, and admitting to shooting it in the air at a drone… Hope book gets thrown at him…

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I think we all can agree on that!

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the geeksvana video analysis is unbeeped I think.

Yep, see my previous post breaking down the likely offences committed.

A lot!

But not by the drone pilot!

At least 3 separate offences under the Firearms Act 1968 by my reckoning.

In that situation im backing off whilst going to 999 to report threatening behaviour with a firearm.
Not my job to work out what type of weapon it is and the response and punishment is the same regardless.

999 firearm maybe the ONLY type of call that’ll actually get an immediate police presence these days.

Do that and the guy is in a world of legal hurt from that point onwards.

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