Originally Posted by
franklin_m
I argue the pilots of airliners won't be asked to prove anything, as we're the only ones asking. Their reports are presumed to be true. As for perception of those outside the FAA who might be able to challenge FAA's accounting, consider this: To the average public or media, who do they believe more? An airline pilot reporting a drone or a bunch of modelers saying "no it's not.?"
Originally Posted by
franklin_m
And whether there are more reports of one or the other is immaterial to anyone but us. I contend that to the public, media, and lawmakers, the number of both should be ZERO. There's not even an estimate of the number of laser pointers out there, but I suspect it far exceeds the number of "drones." So percentage wise, it's likely a much smaller number, yet FAA is pursuing that too.
I do agree with much of what you said. I do find it hard to believe that commercial planes traveling at a high rate of speed can accuratly tell exactly what they saw all the time.
You said "the number of both should be zero" and while that would be nice if we lived in a perfect world, it will never happen in reality. If we are so high on safety, maybe we should focus on closing down every alcohol selling establishment, make mandatory that all vehicles have built in breathalyzers and only offer alcohol for home purchase. I don't agree with any of that, but it will save THOUSANDS, maybe 10's of thousands more lives than the zero that have been lost by "drones" hitting full scale.