Drone pilots practiced for rescue operations south of Buchendorf on Saturday.
Behind it is the new rescue network association, which wants to raise awareness of the many advantages of small aircraft in emergencies - when looking for missing persons as well as during floods.
Buchendorf
- What is the fastest way to find a person in a field of several hectares? Certainly not on foot. Normally, helicopter crews use thermal imaging cameras to search from the air, but helicopters are not always available and operating times are limited. An alternative are drones, remote-controlled aircraft that can do a lot more than just take photos. The rescue network association founded a few weeks ago, an association of drone pilots from all over Germany, wants to show the possibilities of flying machines for rescue missions and is ready with pilots for missions if they are requested by the police and rescue organizations. During the first major exercise on Saturday near Buchendorf, the pilots demonstrated what can be done with drones.
As a loose association, the network has been around for a long time, now it is an association - and in the middle of practice came the news that it is recognized as a non-profit organization. Maximilian Martin is chairman, the association is based in Unterschleißheim - he is active everywhere, and the members come from all over Germany. Up to now they had mainly dedicated themselves to the rescue of fawns, i.e. flying off fields before mowing. Drones can also find people, give rescuers an overview of deployment sites and much more. They can also be used at night, some are equipped with spotlights and almost always thermal imaging cameras, larger ones can also fly in the rain and transmit announcements.
Drones, explains technical manager Michael Klingsöhr from Neuried, professional drone expert and trainer also for fire brigades and police, are more flexible than helicopters in certain situations - for example, they can look under overhangs on the banks of rivers - and can be used longer (the batteries just become exchanged).
It is not for nothing that fire brigades and the police are increasingly using drone units, but by no means all of them - the association wants to close this gap.
+
The search begins: the BRK Augsburg-Land drone team is regularly alerted, especially when it comes to searching for people.
If several drones are in use, larger areas can also be searched quickly.
© ike
The fields south of Buchendorf are Michael Klingsöhr's practice area. Young people from the Gautinger and Unterbrunn fire brigades hid in the fields, and up to three teams of drones searched for them with thermal imaging or high-resolution optical cameras. It usually took no more than 15 minutes to find the young people - then helpers made their way to see them. Larger drones stay in the air for up to 45 minutes, the smaller ones for half an hour. Often, helicopters cannot stay longer because they have to refuel. The drones are not in competition with helicopters: “We complement each other,” says Klingsöhr. If several drones are in use, they fly at different altitudes - this is precisely coordinated. The pilots of the club have all the necessary permits from the air authorities and driver's licenses.
Some of the approximately 100 club members are full professionals such as Michael Klingsöhr, while others fly part-time. Some come from fire brigades or rescue services - such as Joachim Scheffel and his drone team from the BRK Augsburg-Land. Thanks to the district and donors, they have several drones, including a large one worth around 20,000 euros. In the meantime, the helpers are being alerted more often, "especially when searching for people," he reports. Even when helicopters cannot fly at higher altitudes due to fog, but drones can - they are not allowed to be higher than 100 meters anyway. A team always consists of several people: one person flies, a second observes the monitors with the live image, and a third coordinates.
During the exercise, police officers looked at the potential of drones.
The association wants to help, which is why, according to Martin, two dozen drone pilots were ready within six hours to look for missing people in the flood areas in western Germany or to fly off buildings.
But they were not used.
More info
and a donation account on rettungsnetzwerk.eu.
There you can also find information on alerting.
