I would happily see all drone banned but "what could only be a drone" is stretching things quite a lot. Why could it only be a drone? More likely a bird but its obvious you had no idea what it was.
S92PAX why would you like them ALL banned? Some of us are qualified to fly them commercially. Those of us who have bothered to become qualified and certificated by the UK CAA, aren't likely to be an issue with other aircraft, especially when you're a professional pilot too! The people you have to worry about are the idiots out there.
Think of the law regarding shotguns or firearms. Its not usually the legal holders who use them in an illegal manner. I personally think its unfair to blame it all on 'drones' (or SUAV) unless you can genuinely prove it was one.
I didn't take kindly to the 4 fixed wing aircraft flying over my house this morning at less than 500'. It was unnecessary and probably illegal, military training or not. Shall we ban all aircraft in case one hits another? I've nearly hit more gliders than I have 'drones' but they still appear to be legal.
The rate of change is due to the market place. SUA are readily available now and have much more performance and capability than ever before. GPS positioning, 4K HD 20mp cameras, with a range of up to 8 miles and half hour battery life. I will put money on there being even more reports over the next few years. The CAA aren't interested in reports of illegal flying. Check the CAA website if you don't believe me. They recommend reporting it to the police force. Yes those with already overstretched resources. Saying that, myself and a friend were flying completely legally a few months back but fairly close to a certain area. Security called the police. Police informed Special Branch. We both had lengthy conversations with SB to explain ourselves, which must have taken at least 2-3 hours of their time in tracking us down after we'd left the area. Pulled out our insurance and CAA permissions to prove we weren't d*cking about. What a waste of police time and resources.
I'd just like to add, if people are flying the DJI drones, when using the DJI App, it records all flights, video, heights, speeds, distances and so makes checking people very easy.
