Toy Drones Are Serious Risk to Aircraft: Aerospace Firm

Toy drones can be dangerous and costly to the aerospace industry and consumers, according to a new report from a Texas aerospace and defense firm.

The study by Aero Kinetics, a Texas-based aerospace and defense company, examined what might happen when a collision occurs between a toy drone and a manned aircraft, including the potential for damage and death. The study then compared a toy drone strike with historical data on bird strikes, which the report says are proven to cause significant damage to manned aircraft and loss of human life.

Citing figures that bird strikes cost $951 million per year in the U.S. alone, the study concludes that the impact of a toy drone – made of plastic, metal and engineered materials — with a manned aircraft in a collision would be even more catastrophic.

Between 1990 and 2013, there were more than 70,000 bird strikes with planes during take-off or landing, according to FAA statistics cited by Aero Kinetics.

The report, “The Real Consequences of Flying Toy Drones in the National Airspace System,” concludes that toy drones “pose a significant threat to manned rotorcraft in all phases of flight, including cruise, based on their typical operating altitudes.”

“Most people don’t understand how threatening a toy drone can be. Toy drones are not unmanned aircraft,” said W. Hulsey Smith, CEO of Aero Kinetics. “Make no mistake lives are at stake.”