Drones becoming more of a problem for pilots

CALGARY- A University of Calgary study says there are now more drones in the air than piloted aircraft and the numbers of close calls between the two continue to rise.

The study, which is published online in the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems, examines drone incident data in Canada from the Transport Canada Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System database.

U. of C. associate professor Chris Hugenholtz, one of the co-authors of the study, says between November, 2005 and December, 2016 a total of 355 drone incidents were reported in Canadian airspace.

He says 22 per cent of those involved close encounters between drones and piloted aircraft.