Hawke's Bay residents angered by peeping drones

Hawke's Bay residents have been concerned and irritated by peeping drones flying over private property.

Havelock North resident Lincoln Hira caught on video a drone flying over his neighbourhood at night about 8pm one night earlier this week.

"I just had to go and get something out of the workbench and just happened to look up and there was a green blinking light.

"I was a bit dumbfounded. I knew what it was straight away, you could hear the propellers moving around in the wind so it must have been reasonably big."

He said having the drone flying near his family home at night gave him an uneasy feeling.

"We've got a house full of assets and a newborn in the house and three under 7 so it kind of got up my nose.

"I was definitely on the verge of running inside, grabbing my slug gun and having a couple of shots at it."

Havelock North resident Lincoln Hira said the drone he spotted flying over his neighbourhood at night made him feel uneasy. Photo / Paul Taylor

One resident near Whakatu believes she saw a drone being shot down as it hovered near her home about 9pm on Saturday.

"I heard a shot and I didn't think much about it but I went into my second bedroom and there was another shot towards the west side of Whakatu and the drone just dropped."

She said she couldn't tell who had shot the drone or what had happened to it afterwards.

She said the drone's presence was intimidating and an invasion of privacy.

"It's not nice because you don't know just what they're up to."

A drone has also been spotted several times by residents of the Longlands area in Hastings in the early evening.

A Longlands resident said she could hear the sound of it hovering nearby, while its flashing lights looked like a camera taking pictures.

"It feels like a real invasion of privacy," she said.

Civil Aviation Authority rules for unmanned aircraft state that drone pilots must get consent before flying over private land, such as farms or houses, and should stay a safe and considerate distance away from people and buildings.

According to the rules, unmanned aircraft should also only fly during daylight, unless they were used in a "shielded operation". This is when the aircraft remains within 100 metres of and below the top of a natural or manmade object.

A large commercial hexacopter drone with camera. Photo / Getty Images

Drones must also be visible to the pilot's own eyes at all times.

Drone pilots must have a Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certification if they want to fly outside of the CAA rules.

A police spokeswoman said Hawke's Bay police were not aware of the use of drones for criminal activity being a significant issue.

A Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman said CAA has received six complaints so far in 2022 about drones flying overhead properties in Hawke's Bay.

"Across all New Zealand there have only been two prosecutions and neither of these were in Hawkes Bay."

The spokeswoman said CAA has a number of options when investigating complaints about drone activity, including issuing infringement notices and warnings to operators they regulate.

The spokeswoman advises people who witness drones flying over private property to report the incident through the form on the CAA website at https://www.aviation.govt.nz/about-us/contact-us/report-a-drone-safety-concern/.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chief executive James Palmer said the council follows CAA guidelines for drones.

He said council staff do fly drones but not at night or over private property without the owners' consent.