Nathan Flint, 19, flew his drone at 1,600ft, four times the legal limit. It came within just five seconds of crashing into a police helicopter carrying a pilot and two passengers
An amateur drone pilot who narrowly avoided causing a ‘catastrophic’ collision with a police helicopter has avoided jail. Nathan Flint, 19, flew his DJI Air 3 drone at an altitude of 1,600ft, four times the legal limit, coming within five seconds of a disastrous crash with a police chopper carrying a pilot and two officers.
The ex-military pilot of the helicopter stated that if he hadn’t spotted the drone’s lights and swerved right, the results could have been ‘catastrophic’. The police helicopter’s pilot noticed the green and red lights of the drone while flying over Middleton, Greater Manchester shortly after midnight following take-off from Salford on August 9, 2023. The helicopter was flying at 1,800ft and travelling at 138mph when the pilot saw the lights below the aircraft ‘in the 11 o’clock position’, prosecutor Aubrey Sampson told Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Wednesday.
The pilot immediately ‘took evasive action and banked to the left to avoid a collision’, the court heard. The pilot deemed this necessary as the drone could have made contact with the aircraft within just 4.8 seconds of it being noticed, according to the prosecution.
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One of the police passengers in the helicopter spotted the drone between 100 and 200ft below the chopper and about 1,600ft from the ground, reports the Manchester Evening News. The drone then descended into Flint’s garden in Middleton, and using ‘mapping technology’, the second police officer identified Flint’s address. The helicopter returned to Manchester City Airport, where the officers filed a ‘near miss’ report.
The next morning, police turned up at Flint’s door and arrested him. He confessed immediately to being the drone’s remote pilot, and said he had been excited to try out the gadget after purchasing it with his birthday money. The typical retail price for a DJI Air 3 is over £1,200. Flint also said he was aware that drones should be kept under 400ft, and admitted it was ‘well above the legal altitude limit’.
Police helicopter captain Peter Delaney said it was the first time he had ever had to take such drastic evasive action in his career. He said: “In all my years as a helicopter pilot and before during my military service I have never had to take such evasive action because of a drone. It posed a huge risk to my aircraft… It could have caused catastrophic results.” He described the drone flyer as ‘dangerous and reckless’.
Pat Buckley, defending, highlighted the extensive delay in bringing the case to court, which he said influenced proceedings. Judge Jenny Lester-Ashworth considered Flint’s reduced culpability due to him having a learning disability, and ruled that a prison sentence was ‘not necessary’. She said: “You took ownership of the drone following a birthday and took the opportunity to fly that drone and fly it in a way that was dangerous.”
It was also heard that Flint had sold the drone since the incident, and the judge told him: “I doubt you have any intention of buying another one. If you do you must make sure you check all the requirements before you do something like this again. This offence is viewed as serious which is why you are in the crown court and not the magistrates’ court. This is an offence which does cross the custody threshold.”
Judge Lester-Ashworth told Flint that if he didn’t have autism, he ‘would be going to prison’. She continued: “I’m not going to send you to prison today because of those needs.” Wrapping up her observations, Judge Lester-Ashworth noted: “It’s clearly a very dangerous offence and the consequences could have been catastrophic.”
Flint, who is currently on benefits, was handed a community order and a three-month electronically-monitored curfew which requires him to be at home between 7pm and 8am. He was also ordered to pay £150 towards prosecution costs after he admitted recklessly endangering an aircraft, failing to comply with the maximum operating height, failing to display a registration, contravening registration requirements and failing to have appropriate competence for the flight.
