Hkalpa.org Website Review

the hong kong airline pilots as*ociation (hkalpa) supports the government's initiative to regulate the use of unmanned aircraft with the advancement in uas technology, we foresee the benefits in various professional applications for these systems in hong kong. however, these systems are becoming more affordable and are being acquired by increasing numbers of the general public for leisure use. we have already seen incidents in hong kong where uas have been operated above crowded gatherings and near helipads. sightings of uas near major airports around the world are also on the rise and have caused safety concerns and serious disruptions.   we support the proposed requirement to register uas, and the training requirement for uas operators. we also believe that risk as*essments for any commercial use and for heavier vehicles are prudent. the constraints set out for uas operations ensure that these vehicles are segregated from controlled airspace; however, we are concerned about the enforcement of these regulations in future.  read more. under the hong kong civil aviation (investigation of accidents) regulations, an inspector has the power to call witness to answer questions or furnish information during an aircraft accident or incident investigation, he has the power to have access to and examine any aircraft flight data recorders. however, there is no protection in the current regulation that ensures such information collected for the investigation are not to be used for purpose other than an safety investigation.   section 5.12 of the icao annex 13 concerning the standards of protection of accident and incident records request the state conducting the investigation of an accident or incident not to make the following records available for purpose other than accident or incident investigation, unless their disclosure or use outweighs the likely adverse domestic and international impact such action may have. by the accident investigation authority in the course of an investigation, all communication between persons having been involved.