- November 7, 2024
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After Hurricane Matthew leaves the area, Flagler County emergency officials realize there will be many sightseers trying to get a look at disaster areas. This may include operators of unmanned aircraft or drones.
Per rules from the state Homeland Security office, as Hurricane Matthew approaches and in the days directly following the storm, all UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) operators must coordinate missions with the State Emergency Response Team (SERT) Air Operations branch to ensure the safety of life-sustaining manned aviation missions. The Air Operations branch will coordinate airspace, missions, and flight times to ensure everyone’s safety.
Manned aviation missions will be heavy following impact, and unauthorized UAS operations will ground these flights. Remember, these manned missions are providing critical life-sustaining support. UAS operators must coordinate with SERT Air Operations branch prior to flight.
UAS operators should utilize this call-down tree to coordinate UAS flights with Air Operations. When calling, request the “Air Operations UAS Coordinator.”
Primary Contact: (850) 671-0166
Secondary Contact: (850) 980-7098
Email Contact: [email protected] - use only if phone contact fails.
Again, communicate directly with the Air Operations UAS Coordinator via one of the above methods before flying UAS.
“The reason not to fly drones is because there will be numerous emergency aircraft flying at lower altitudes performing emergency work, such as disaster assessment, and search and rescue,” Flagler County Fire Chief Don Petito stressed.
