Q&A Windsor expert talks fighter-jet response to drone

Fighter jets recently raced throughOttawa air spaceto chase after a drone spotted bycommercial airline pilots at an altitude of about 2,000 metres.

• Fighter jets scrambled after drone spotted near Ottawa airport

When news broke thatNORAD dispatched two CF-18sfrom Canadian Forces BaseBagotvillein Quebecon May 25, Kristen Thomasen jumped on twitter to express her shock over such a severe reaction to a drone.

The PhD student at the University of Ottawa will soon be thenewassistant professor of law, robotics and society at the University of Windsor.

She talked to CBC's Windsor Morning about thebroader implications of the incident.

What was your reaction when you heard about this incident?

"I was surprised that fighter jets would be an appropriate response to a drone sighting. But on further reflection, it highlights some of the challenges that we're seeing in a lot of the drone stories coming outrecently and over the last couple years.

"They haven't released a lot of details in terms of why [there was] that strong of a reaction. But the uncertainty of who's flying the drone, why it's being flown, what it's going to do, probably underlies some of the reaction. Plus, [there's] the actual safety impact if a drone were to collide with an aircraft."

This drone was spotted 2 kilometres above the ground. How common is it for drones to be this high?

"It was a larger-sized drone, so it's not like your average recreational drone, which is maybe more like a toy. Drones can fly quite high. Usually, the larger the drone, the higher it may be capable of going.

"As an example, Facebook is looking to design drones that can fly above usual air space. So, it's not surprising that a drone can fly that high, but it does raise questions about who might be flying that kind of drone."

What does the law currently say about where drones can fly?

"There are upper limits on where you're supposed to stop flying your drone, according to Transport Canada. Also, you're supposed to keep a drone within line of sight. Obviously, if it's getting up that high, it might be unrealistic in terms of how visible it is to an operator on the ground."

What's missing from our current regulations?

"Currently, what we have in place are rules, as opposed to specific laws. Transport Canada has the ability to make rules that dictate how drones should be flown and they can enforce financial penalties, but in terms of drone specific laws, it's really limited to that.

"There are some [rules] that may or may not apply in this situation, depending on who was flying the drone and whether they had prior permission. It is possible to apply to Transport Canada for permission in advance before flying and that might grant exceptions, but presumably that's not what happened in this case because then there wouldn't have been this reaction."