Pilots can't spot drones as they approach a runway, warns a shock new study. They fail to catch sight of the flying gadgets 70 per cent of the time - even when they are in their airspace, according to the findings. And they almost never identify the machines if they are hovering motionless above the ground. The disturbing findings uncover a'real and present danger' to safety, warn US aviation experts. Study co author Dr Ryan Wallace, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the United States, said: 'Dangerous close encounters between aircraft and drones are becoming an increasingly common problem.

The drone attack that caused chaos at Gatwick before Christmas was carried out by someone with knowledge of the airport's operational procedures, the airport has said. A Gatwick chief told BBC Panorama the drone's pilot "seemed to be able to see what was happening on the runway". Sussex Police told the programme the possibility an "insider" was involved was a "credible line" of inquiry. About 140,000 passengers were caught up in the disruption. The runway at the UK's second busiest airport was closed for 33 hours between 19 and 21 December last year - causing about 1,000 flights to be cancelled or delayed.

Flight departures from Dubai International, which handled around 90 million passengers last year, were suspended between 10:13 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The incident, a Dubai official said, was caused by "a guy in the desert" operating a drone. It wasn't immediately clear if the person was apprehended. Although operating a drone without a license is illegal, individuals often fly their drones in the open space of the desert, in part to take pictures in the often scenic setting. The suspension came only weeks after U.S. regulators halted flights at Newark Liberty International Airport after a drone was spotted near another New Jersey airport.

All major UK airports now have or will soon have military grade anti-drone equipment, the government says. It comes after the military were called in to help when drone sightings caused delays for around an hour at Heathrow on Tuesday. And drone sightings at Gatwick caused major disruption affecting 140,000 passengers before Christmas. Earlier, the defence secretary said it would "not be right" to ask the RAF to respond to similar incidents in future. Gavin Williamson said all commercial airports needed to invest in anti-drone technology.

In the U.S., according to industry officials, the Federal Communications Commission's reluctance to authorize sales of hardware able to disrupt radio links has hobbled growth of the nascent counterdrone industry. Only a handful of U.S. airports have advanced drone-detection programs under way, according to industry officials, and nearly all are in the testing phase. Congress, however, has instructed the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a strategy to permit wide use of counterdrone technologies across airports. Sponsors of major sports events, some concerts and large open-air gatherings, including the New Year's Eve celebration in New York's Times Square, have called on counterdrone techniques to ensure safety. But like most airports, such entities generally refrain from publicly spelling out their plans.

On Sunday, police said both individuals had cooperated fully and were no longer suspects, adding that they were continuing to follow leads in their investigation. The airport offered a £50,000 ($63,200) reward for any evidence that leads to the conviction of those responsible for the disruption, police said. Drone use around commercial flights is a growing safety concern for regulators. Prosecutions when drones are flown too close to commercial planes are rare, and some instances of drone sightings by commercial airliners have turned out to be inaccurate. This month, authorities in Mexico investigated a potential collision of an Aeromexico jetliner with a drone.

LONDON - London's Gatwick Airport was operating without problems Sunday, but the fugitive drone operators who brought incoming and outgoing flights to a standstill over multiple days remained at large -- and a potential threat -- after police cleared two local residents who were arrested as suspects. Sussex Police were hopeful they had halted the disruptive and costly drone incursions during one of the heaviest travel periods of the year with Friday's arrests of a couple who live near the airport. But they were released Sunday, and police said they were no longer suspects. Tens of thousands of passengers suffered through long flight delays or were stranded by cancellations after two drones were reported seen above the airfield at Gatwick on Wednesday night, prompting an immediate suspension of all air traffic. Sussex Chief Detective Jason Tingley said Sunday he could not rule out new drone activity at Gatwick or other U.K. airports.

LONDON - British police say two people were arrested early Saturday morning for suspected "criminal use of drones'" in the Gatwick Airport case that has created nightmarish travel delays for tens of thousands of holiday passengers. Sussex police did not release the age or gender of the two suspects arrested late Friday night and did not say where the arrests were made. The two have not been charged. Police Superintendent James Collis asked the public in the Gatwick area to remain vigilant. "Our investigations are still ongoing, and our activities at the airport continue to build resilience to detect and mitigate further incursions from drones by deploying a range of tactics," he said.

The criminal who is illegally flying a drone at Gatwick Airport is being hunted by police and military personnel using cutting-edge technology. Gatwick has been brought to a standstill in the wake of the rogue drone terrorising the airport. Several methods have been developed, including laser-laden drones, high-tech jammers and tracking the signal via triangulation, which may be used to end the fiasco. Human snipers have also been brought in to help with the pursuit of the drone. The Army has been working on a'Drone Dome' or'kill-jammer' - which can'soft kill' a drone by knocking out its communications or a'hard kill' by shooting it down with a laser from up to two miles away - and may use this prototypical technology.

The Army used a cutting-edge Israeli anti-drone system to defeat the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that brought misery to hundreds of thousands of people at Gatwick airport. The British Army bought six'Drone Dome' systems for £15.8 million in 2018 and the technology is used in Syria to destroy ISIS UAVs. Police had been seen on Thursday with an off-the-shelf DJI system that tracks drones made by that manufacturer and shows officers where the operator is (DJI is the most popular commercial drone brand.) However, the drone used at Gatwick is thought to have been either hacked or an advanced non-DJI drone, which rendered the commercial technology used by the police useless. At that point, the Army's'Drone Dome' system made by Rafael was called in.