WHAT HAPPENS IF A DRONE CRASHES INTO AN AIRPLANE?

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WHAT HAPPENS IF A DRONE CRASHES INTO AN AIRPLANE?
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• For those nervous fliers among us, when the plane
  begins to make its final descent, we tend to
  relax a little and believe that nothing could
  possibly go wrong at this stage. However, with
  more and more drones being flown recreationally
  (and sometimes to cause intentional disruption,
  allegedly), there is always the possibility that
  one of these tiny but potentially hazardous
  flying objects can hit a plane and disrupt its
  descent.
• While there have been no reports of such an event
  occurring, the risks are increasingly present,
  and for those involved in the aviation industry,
  they want to know just how much damage an
  aircraft can be expected to sustain if it
  collided with a drone.

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• Simulated collision between aircraft and drone
• Scientists simulated a collision between a drone
  and an airplane by launching a small quadcopter
  from a cannon at 283 mph straight into the wing
  of a small aircraft. What they saw happen,
  shocked them. The drone was smashed into a few
  pieces, but its energy and mass stayed together
  to cause damage to the wing that could only be
  described as significant.
• When you watch the video back, you can clearly
  see the tiny 2 lb drone be absorbed into the
  wing, yet still cause the leading edge of the
  wing to be ripped open, and on its trajectory
  inward, it damages the spar of the wing.

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• Now this spar is a vital structural element of
  the wing that helps to keep it stable, and when
  the scientific team conducted a similar
  experiment using a fake bird, while the hole it
  created in the wings leading edge was larger than
  that cause by the drone, the crucial spar was
  left unharmed.
• Just how important are the spars on a planes
  wing?
• Pretty important, is the short answer! The entire
  weight of an aircraft is suspended on the wing
  spars, and if one of them became significantly
  damaged, there is little chance that the aircraft
  would be able to maintain its flight trajectory,
  causing it to crash.

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• While the experiments carried out by the
  scientific team were on a small aircraft that
  seats four people, the thickness and structure of
  its wings are not dissimilar to those on a larger
  passenger jet.
• What is the risk of a plane being struck by a
  drone?
• With the increased popularity of drones, and a
  rise in the number of incidents in which drones
  have been spotted and recorded flying in
  restricted areas, the risk of an airplane
  colliding with one is very real. The FAA (Federal
  Aviation Administration) recently reported that
  pilots came within a short distance of unmanned
  aerial vehicles, no fewer than 800 times, with
  some of the sightings resulting in close calls
  that could have had devastating consequences.

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• While some drones may be flown in restricted
  areas for erroneous purposes, most incidents
  occur when the pilot isnt aware that theyre
  breaking FAA rules and regulations. An increase
  in UAV regulations could help reduce these
  incidents, along with drones that are designed to
  shatter upon impact.
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