Search and rescue drones rarely used in the North so far

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are shaking up many industries, from filmmaking to courier services, and opening up new possibilities in others. Search and rescue is among them, benefiting from the devices' low cost and portability.

• B.C. search and rescue drones to take flight in new year

But so far in the Northwest Territories, drones aren't often sent out looking for missing hunters or boaters. 

Flying regulations and technical limitations are to blame, according to a Yellowknife search and rescue co-ordinator.

"A drone needs to be under 500 feet, within line of sight of the operator, and those conditions can't be met for the kind of search that we do," says David Taylor of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association. 

To conduct aerial searches, which can span many kilometres, most commercially available drones can't stay in the air long enough to cover all that ground. Even if they could, current regulations are not set up to accommodate that kind of use.

Transport Canada announced last year that it is overhauling its regulations, and an early draft of the new regulations suggests they may include a licence system that would allow more advanced users to fly with fewer restrictions.

Great potential

For now, Taylor says drones have great potential for more contained searches — for example, a cliffside or a small wooded area.

"I've seen a video of the RCMP down south where they used a drone with a thermal sensor on it, and the drone just went straight up, and with the camera could see the field, and was immediately able to pinpoint the hotspot on the far side of the field in the trees," he says. 

"Then they were able to direct ground searchers to the location. Just by going up 100 feet, you were able to see the area, see the people, and the searchers didn't have to do a grid search of the whole area."

'Spectacular technology'

Ontario Provincial Police say they use drones regularly for search and rescue. With a growing fleet currently consisting of 13 drones, a spokesperson says UAVs are a "spectacular technology."

"We're very, very fortunate that we have these devices available to us," says Sgt. Peter Leon. 

"It's truly a significant enhancement to our search and rescue capabilities."

• New B.C.-made drone to be tested with search and rescue crews

Emergency Management B.C. has also recently approved a pilot project to use drones in search and rescue.

Chris John, program manager for the N.W.T. RCMP's UAV section, says that although drones aren't used in every SAR situation, and though the RCMP doesn't have any full-time pilots, drones have been used in two or three search and rescue operations since 2012 and one was used recently in Dettah.

"It is part of the toolkit. But if we have a search tomorrow, I can't tell you that we will use it," says John. "It's more meant for traffic."