New York new year drone plan scuppered by rain
- Published
Police plans to fly a camera-equipped drone over New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City were ruined by rain.
The NYPD had planned to use a surveillance drone to monitor the annual party in Times Square for the first time.
But police chief Terence Monahan said the drone could not be safely deployed because of heavy rain and wind.
More than a million people celebrated new year at the Times Square event, which went without a hitch.
Thousands of NYPD officers worked on New Year's Eve
Despite the rain, the party was a success
The NYPD had planned to use its camera drone in addition to deploying thousands of street cameras, officers and other security measures.
The drone was to be tethered to a building so that it could not fall on to the crowd below if something went wrong.
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At a press event on 28 December, the force acknowledged that the aircraft might not work well in poor weather conditions.
Police used helicopters instead to keep an eye on the party from above.
The force also deployed "counter-drone technology" to prevent unauthorised aircraft flying over the celebration in Times Square.
- Published31 December 2018
