I have knowledge from certain official sources regarding the gatwick Drone Incident and indeed Roswell...... I was wondering what people on here think the truth was/is

You have Two votes

Gatwick system failure cover-up.

Definitely a cover up,  there was reporting at the time of baggage system software having an issue, and this also occurred at other airports at the same time.

Everybody knows what happened at Area51, didn't you see the movie Independence day? It's all there very well documented.

I don’t think it matters whether there was a drone or not, except to those wrongly accused, what it did show was the destruction that could be caused to both people and businesses and a stark reminder of why we should respect how we fly and of course where we fly, it also showed the need for airports to back up their security to both combat and secure airports for general public.

There is no need to fly anywhere near an airport unless your flying commercially, if you live near an airport and you want a drone then learn the code and rules of flying close to an airport, planes are restricted where they fly the flight paths they take, we all expect them to adhere to their rules, so the same expectations should be there for drone users.

I don’t think we have seen many changes in rules since gatwick, if you take into consideration the new rules from EASA due out next year, British drone users will see changes for the better as will many countries around Europe.

With regard to public perception, I think this may have changed and not for the better, so it might be up to drone communities to try mend this.

It was an ATC NATS system update that had a bug in the code - nearly took out 3 of the UK's international airports. That 3 to 4 day 'repeat drone attacks' was just the time it took the coders to find the bug, write and test a patch before reinstalling the fixed update. So a convenient cover indeed. Needless to say some we're saying it was an inside job - indeed it was ... just get an employee to fly a drone around so that some of the 'publicum' get to see and 'confirm' the 'attack' or sighting(s). Job done - and massive claims avoided. As for Roswell and alien crashed flying saucer ... well, who knows who walks amongst us - we're governed by Lizard People!

Lamplighter55 Posted at 12-6 09:30
It was an ATC NATS system update that had a bug in the code - nearly took out 3 of the UK's international airports. That 3 to 4 day 'repeat drone attacks' was just the time it took the coders to find the bug, write and test a patch before reinstalling the fixed update. So a convenient cover indeed. Needless to say some we're saying it was an inside job - indeed it was ... just get an employee to fly a drone around so that some of the 'publicum' get to see and 'confirm' the 'attack' or sighting(s). Job done - and massive claims avoided. As for Roswell and alien crashed flying saucer ... well, who knows who walks amongst us - we're governed by Lizard People!

it's the old trick in the book.  done ALL-THE-TIME.

crowd of protesters that you sick of seeing and hearing.  riots police standing nearby tolerating a ton of liberal law-abiding protesters.  send a UC over the infiltrate the crowd, blend in, start taunting the police, hurl a bottle.  police now have reason to "attack" the entire crowd, disperse, and arrest because people aren't going to just stand there and take it....all while the ringer makes off and disappears down an alley.  police know him, he'll be wearing a red MUFC cap, be sure not to hit him with pepper spray or capture him which will blow his cover.

you read about it all the time how the person who started it was never captured.  often you won't how did things so sideways so quickly....that's how.

Lamplighter55 Posted at 12-6 09:30
It was an ATC NATS system update that had a bug in the code - nearly took out 3 of the UK's international airports. That 3 to 4 day 'repeat drone attacks' was just the time it took the coders to find the bug, write and test a patch before reinstalling the fixed update. So a convenient cover indeed. Needless to say some we're saying it was an inside job - indeed it was ... just get an employee to fly a drone around so that some of the 'publicum' get to see and 'confirm' the 'attack' or sighting(s). Job done - and massive claims avoided. As for Roswell and alien crashed flying saucer ... well, who knows who walks amongst us - we're governed by Lizard People!

It was an ATC NATS system update ... That 3 to 4 day 'repeat drone attacks' was just the time it took the coders to find the bug, write and test a patch before reinstalling the fixed update.

Guessing they never heard of backups and (tested emergency) restores?  
Or simulation testing of new "features", before going live...

The Saint Posted at 12-6 18:19
it's the old trick in the book.  done ALL-THE-TIME.

crowd of protesters that you sick of seeing and hearing.  riots police standing nearby tolerating a ton of liberal law-abiding protesters.  send a UC over the infiltrate the crowd, blend in, start taunting the police, hurl a bottle.  police now have reason to "attack" the entire crowd, disperse, and arrest because people aren't going to just stand there and take it....all while the ringer makes off and disappears down an alley.  police know him, he'll be wearing a red MUFC cap, be sure not to hit him with pepper spray or capture him which will blow his cover.

In Gatwick case, authorities posted created the UC.
The authorities arrested an innocent couple, without first doing a proper investigation.
Hope couple sues authorities for tens of Millions of GBPs.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 12-6 19:33
It was an ATC NATS system update ... That 3 to 4 day 'repeat drone attacks' was just the time it took the coders to find the bug, write and test a patch before reinstalling the fixed update.

Guessing they never heard of backups and (tested emergency) restores?  

Trouble with using bespoke systems - less of a generic base to weed out the odd 'unforeseen'. The system had teething problems when it transitioned from analogue to digital. And as with government contracts - the tech was already 'old' by the time if finally went live. Needless to say, human factors also come into play when the original engineers and programmers have long since retired.

An eye opener for me happpened a few months ago. I was given permission to fly around a local airport, and despite my first flight operating about 300 meters from the ATC tower, when I spoke with them after, they said they did not once see the drone. We were both surprised.

One big hoax and fiasco

Lamplighter55 Posted at 2019-12-6 09:30
It was an ATC NATS system update that had a bug in the code - nearly took out 3 of the UK's international airports. That 3 to 4 day 'repeat drone attacks' was just the time it took the coders to find the bug, write and test a patch before reinstalling the fixed update. So a convenient cover indeed. Needless to say some we're saying it was an inside job - indeed it was ... just get an employee to fly a drone around so that some of the 'publicum' get to see and 'confirm' the 'attack' or sighting(s). Job done - and massive claims avoided. As for Roswell and alien crashed flying saucer ... well, who knows who walks amongst us - we're governed by Lizard People!

I don't see it being as much of a conspiracy as that, the risk of being found out must be worse than just admitting it was a code issue to start with? what's to be gained covering it up that way?

I would guess someone thought they spotted a drone then the response was so badly bodged it spiralled out of control, people were spotting police drones and reporting them which kept confusing things.

itchyeyeballs Posted at 8-11 03:22
I don't see it being as much of a conspiracy as that, the risk of being found out must be worse than just admitting it was a code issue to start with? what's to be gained covering it up that way?

I would guess someone thought they spotted a drone then the response was so badly bodged it spiralled out of control, people were spotting police drones and reporting them which kept confusing things.

... it never was proven. Though it could have been speculation up to a point, there really was a systems crash  at the time of the software update. A convenient displacement activity of 'Drone Raders', masking a systems failure would get the ATC companies off the hook for being sued by the airlines for significant loss of revenue, and loss of face to all the passengers whose flights were cancelled at the time.