Drones for Water Search and Rescue

 

The use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or “drones” for a wide variety of operations and businesses has been dramatically increasing both nationally and internationally.  The drone regulatory environment in the United States continues to evolve. New drone capabilities and more effective ways to use these capabilities are constantly being developed and implemented. Drones have quickly become the most widely used tool for many industries. From Police and Fire Departments to agriculture and energy operations, drones have become essential to boosting safety and productivity.

How does this important capability improve the SAR planner’s ability to search for persons in distress? Which drone is appropriate and most effective for a search based on the circumstances of the case? How does the SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC)/Incident Commander (IC) gain approval to use drones for a particular SAR operation? These are challenging questions that must be answered before contemplating the use of UAS in a particular SAR mission.

SAR Coordinators (SCs), SMCs/ICs, State, Tribal, Territorial/Insular Area, local SAR authorities, and volunteers interested in using UAS for SAR will also find important information and guidance in this Addendum in the development, management, and operation of their UAS programs.

What About Drones for Water Search and Rescue

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in using Drones in support of water search and rescue.  Regardless of the type of water from flood, river, swiftwater, coastal, ocean, surf or ice, a drone can be another valuable tool in your toolbox to effectively, efficiently and most important of all safely assist with the conduct water search and rescue operations.

However, there is little evidence that they are used in a structured and strategic manner to best effect. An effective response is essential if lives are to be saved and suffering alleviated.

"In order to realize the true value of a drone’s capabilities in water search and rescue, Drone Pilots and SAR authorities from the Incident Commander (IC) on down need to gain experience by employing drones on actual SAR operations and in training.  Only then will you realize that drones provide another tool in the toolbox for the Incident Commanders that can and will prove invaluable."

A search and rescue drone used by emergency services, such as police officers, firefighters or volunteer rescue teams, is ideal for searching over vast areas for missing persons in need of rescue and in any environment.  Search times can be significantly reduced while limiting potential risk to the party being rescued as well as rescuers. There are many options and benefits to using drones for water search and rescue.

With a lifetime in all water environments to include coastal, ocean, surf, swiftwater, flood and ice rescue, safety, and over ten years in drone operations for public safety. SAS Water Safety and EMMU Aerial’s instructors can help your agency evaluate how drones can be used in the preparation for, and response to all water search and rescue emergencies.  We can also provide assistance with all your training requirements and develops standard operating procedures (SOP) for their deployment before, during and after an event.

The Drones for Water Search and Rescue Course was developed and designed to be taught in a three day format with 1 day classroom and 2 days situational field / flight training, where students already have a FAA Part 107 with basic flight knowledge and experience in land search and rescue. Students will gain knowledge and practical experience in hydrology and moving water dynamics, pre-planning, size-up, site control, scene management, drone platforms and payloads, aerial search techniques, rescue mission support, thermal imaging, night operations and lost person behavior. The course will enable the students to identify clearly their own limitations as well as those of the equipment, so that they will be able to utilize drones more safely and effectively.

Contact SAS Water Safety or EMMU Aerial today for more information on integrating drones into water search and rescue.

Butte County SAR uses new drone to help rescue man in flood waters

 

BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - The Butte County Search and Rescue (SAR) team rescued a driver stuck in flood waters on Wednesday.

SAR responded to River Road east of Chico while it was closed.

The driver was stranded in an area surrounded by water that was not easily accessible by vehicle. 

The SAR team had to park about a mile away and used a drone to locate the man before sending people on a raft to bring the man to safety.

SAR said the drone it used came from a grant it received after approval from the North Valley Community Foundation nearly three weeks ago.

The drone has thermal capabilities, allowing SAR to use it at night, if necessary.

Shared from; Action News Now

Public Safety and Law Enforcement Toolkit

 

This toolkit is designed to assist law enforcement and public safety entities in operating and handling situations involving drones or UAS.

• Download and print our Law Enforcement Pocket Card (PDF)
• Download our Drones in Public Safety: A Guide to Starting Operations (PDF)
• State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PDF)
• Letter to COA Holders – Statutory Requirement to Register UAS
  (November 5, 2014) (PDF)
• First Responder Tactical Beyond Visual Line of Sight (TBVLOS) 91.113 Waiver Guide (PDF)

Webinar: Drone Safety: It's the Law
The use of drones in our nation's airspace is rapidly increasing, which raises both opportunities and challenges for public safety and government officials. Learn more about how your authority allows you to take action and respond to unauthorized or unsafe drone operations. Watch the webinar.

Advisory Circular (AC) 00-1.1B
Government or government-contracted aircraft operations must obtain COA from the FAA prior to operations.
Advisory Circular 00-1.1B, Public Aircraft Operations

Small UAS Rule Part 107
This rule contains safety regulations for drones weighing less than 55 pounds.
Summary of the Part 107 Rule (PDF)
Fly under the Small UAS Rule
Advisory Circular 107-2 (PDF)

The Exception for Recreational Flyers
People who fly their drone, UAS, or model aircraft for fun are considered recreational flyers.
Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations
Authorization for limited recreational operations as described in section 44809 (PDF)
Advisory Circular 91-57B – Exception for Limited Recreational Operations of Unmanned Aircraft

Mobile Apps
The FAA's B4UFly App assists users in determining where they can and can't fly. Law enforcement and public safety agencies can use it to determine where they can operate drones or whether drone operations are authorized in a specific location or not.

Public Safety Small Drone Playbook

Drones are being safely integrated into our national airspace for recreational, commercial, and public safety uses. However, unauthorized operations can cause potential hazards to people and property both in the air and on the ground. Our Public Safety Small Drone Playbook is intended to be used as an informational resource for public safety officials conducting investigations regarding drones. The Playbook can assist in determining the difference between authorized and non-authorized drone operations and what potential actions public safety might take.

• Drone Response Playbook for Public Safety (PDF)
• Supplement to the Drone Response Playbook for Public Safety

First, in the Nation – Pearland PD expands DFR operations to include BVLOS without Visual Observers

 

Pearland Police Department has been awarded a certificate of authorization (COA) to operate its drone as first responder (DFR) program beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operation, eliminating the need for human visual observers (VOs). This was achieved using Iris Automation’s Casia G ground-based air surveillance system. 

Read More; SUAS News

What Role Can Drones Play For Flood Rescue?

 From, Fly Dragon

In flood disasters, drones have the advantage of being fast, accurate, and all-weather. Play a huge role in flood rescue. The drone can transmit high-definition pictures and videos of the disaster scene back to the command center. If a person is trapped, the drone can carry out search and positioning by carrying rescue equipment, and with equipment with night vision function, it can achieve all-weather rescue, and can also accurately deliver materials to the trapped person.

 

Air patrol

The UAV is equipped with ultra-clear pan-tilt cameras and infrared thermal imaging cameras for target monitoring, early warning and tracking in all weather and in all climates, and can realize real-time solution and positioning of long-distance targets and coordinates, and can quickly travel through mountainous areas, rivers, etc. In serious situations where personnel are difficult to enter and exit, the on-site audio, video and related data information will be quickly transmitted to the flood control command center in conjunction with the satellite communication system to track the development of the incident for the flood control command center to make judgments and decisions.

Collaborative search and rescue

Drones are not limited by ground and underwater obstacles, reducing the risk of distress in the search for a dinghy. In rescue, for places where manpower cannot immediately reach the rescue, drones can be used to carry life-saving equipment or disaster relief materials for visual delivery, and images can be sent back to the headquarters in real time to achieve accurate emergency rescue materials or rescue equipment. Drop in to gain time for the trapped people to wait for rescue. In the process of search and rescue calls, once trapped people are found, they can be guided and appeased through the microphone, so as to improve the survival belief of the trapped people, guide them to make correct actions to cooperate with the rescue, and improve the success rate and efficiency of rescue. If other emergencies are found, the ground can also be warned.

Emergency lighting

When using drones to search and rescue trapped people at night, searchlights can also be used to guide rescuers and provide auxiliary lighting, which is not limited by terrain and provides mobile light sources; when dangers such as pipe swells and embankments are found at night, temporary construction of transmission lines Low efficiency, special areas are limited by terrain, and ground light sources are limited. UAVs can be used to drone lighting equipment to provide high-altitude emergency light sources for rescue workers.

Throw goods

When the rescue team cannot reach the position of the trapped person immediately for rescue, use drone Lifebuoy delivery rope dropping system to quickly and accurately drop the rescue materials into the hands of the trapped person, improve the survival probability of the trapped person, and strive for rescue. more time.

Renewing your Part 107 Certificate – sUAS Recurrent Certificate

 

It has been two years since you showed up to the testing center and nervously answered a bunch of questions in order to get your initial Part 107 Certificate.

Now it is time to renew. In the past, that meant another registration through CATS, a trip to the nearest testing center, and another $150 fee.

As of April of 2021, the FAA released an online course and exam that allowed pilots with their Part 107 certificate to renew to a Part 107 sUAS recurrent certificate. Best of all, it’s FREE!

Here is what you need to do for your Part 107 sUAS recurrent certificate.

Sign up for an FAA Safety Account at faasafety.gov

Once you have created an account and logged in, you will need to enroll in the course. Navigate to the Activities, Courses, Seminars, and Webinars tab and click on the button in the blue bar to show all available courses.

The courses are listed alphabetically, so you can scroll down to find “Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent.”

The course ID for this program is ALC-677. Make sure you are not signing up for the courses for Part 61 pilots (unless, of course, you have your Part 61).

Click on Enroll, and it will open you up to the training.

The course takes around 2 hours to complete.

When you first begin the course, you will be brought to the Introduction Page. It simply describes who the course is for and what it covers.

Following the introduction are three modules, a review, and the exam. The review and exam are not clickable until you have gone through all three modules.

Once you feel like you are ready to take the exam, just go ahead and click on the exam button.

It will open up a list of 45 multiple choice questions, most of which have three possible answers to choose from. You have 90 minutes to answer all 45 questions correctly.

Unlike the initial test or the old recurrent test, you need to get 100% of these questions correct. Fortunately, you will have the opportunity to correct any wrong answers.

Once you have selected a response for all of the questions, click at the bottom to grade the exam.

At the top of the page, there may be some red text indicating questions that were marked incorrect.

Change the answers to the correct one and grade the exam again.

If you run out of time before all answers are correct, you will have to start the exam over again.

Once you get all of the questions correct, you have completed the training and are given the option to view your certificate or email your credentials to someone.

Final Thoughts

You may have noticed that your old Airmen certificate doesn’t have an expiration date. FAA will not be sending you a new one after completing this training.

Go ahead and print off a copy and slide it into your drone case next to the aircraft registration.

In the unlikely event that you have to present your certificate to a FAA investigator, you’ll be happy you have it.

Denver Fire Department trains to rescue people from ice using infrared drone technology

 

DENVER (KDVR) — In a single week, the metro area experienced temperatures ranging from the high 60s to below freezing. The shifts created a heightened risk on area lakes and ponds, which can appear to be frozen but are dangerously unstable.

“We may have a false sense of security by looking out and seeing a real thick layer of ice and don’t realize that ice is not that thick” said Denver Fire Department Captain J.D Chism.

Some wrongly believe entering a frozen pond but avoiding areas of thin ice will ensure their safety.

“You go out you think ‘how bad can it be I can make this, I can swim’ not recognizing how cold that water is and how difficult it is if you fall in the ice to get back out” said Chism.

Chism also explained exhaustion quickly sets in as victims struggle to avoid slipping beneath the surface of the water.

The Denver Fire Department conducts regular ice rescue training to make sure first responders are prepared.

FOX31 traveled to Rocky Mountain Lake Park where training was conducted on Sunday.

Divers submerged to the floor of the 30 feet deep lake to practice 360 sweeps beneath the ice.

Crews conducted real-time rescues using tethers.

“It can be very, very tiresome as we’re approaching that victim, especially if that ice is breaking on our approach” said Chism.

The department uses a special drone to gain an edge against time, which is crucial.

“They can go infrared technology just so they can identify something that we may not be able to see with the human eye” said Chism.

Denver Fire performed as many as 30 ice rescues over the past year, many involving people who ran after pets that fell through the ice.

Chism emphasized that the safest thing to do is call 911 immediately.

“We have the equipment and the technology to get there safely and get your pet out of the water,” he said.

Children and pets should be closely watched if living or playing near water.

“The best option is to just stay off the ice” said Chism.

Drone Used to Find Kayaker Missing on Cuyahoga River in Summit County

 

AKRON, Ohio — A 70-year-old man who was reported missing after he went kayaking on the Cuyahoga River in Summit County was found dead Monday morning by rescue searchers.

The family of Doug Maher became concerned Sunday night after he failed to show up a preplanned location in Brecksville after he began kayaking from the Oxbow Area of Cascade Valley Metro Park.

In video of a news conference Monday provided by WEWS Channel 5, Lt. Tim Morrison with the Akron Fire Department said that Akron and Parma police and rangers with the Summit County Metroparks began searching Sunday night for Maher but efforts were hampered because of high water levels on the river.

The search resumed Monday morning with rescuers from the National Park Service and Summit County Metroparks, and from the Akron, Bath, Copley, Cuyahoga Falls, Macedonia and Richfield fire departments. Morrison said authorities used six drones to search the area and located Maher’s body.

Information on exactly where Maher was found was not available. Morrison said the water level was 4 feet lower on Monday than on Sunday night, which aided in the search. He also said it took about five hours using drones to locate Maher, estimating it would have taken three to five days without drones.

According to Morrison, Maher’s family says the victim was a “very outdoorsmen type of person” but it’s unknown if he was an experienced kayaker.

By Advance Local Media LLC. cleveland.com 

Drone Pilots: Mark Your Calendars - Drone Safety Day 2023

 

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is inviting the drone community to be part of its 2023 Drone Safety Day on Saturday, April 29. 

This one-day national event encourages drone pilots and recreational flyers to “Fly RIGHT” by focusing on five safety elements:

 

• Register your drone 
• Interact with others
• Gain knowledge
• Have a safety plan
• TRUST and Train

The FAA launched the annual campaign in 2019 to bring attention to drone safety and best practices. Safety is a shared responsibility that requires the community and the FAA to work together.

For additional information about virtual and in-person events near you, visit the FAA’s Drone Safety Day webpage. Follow the FAA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest Drone Safety Day news.