Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Kansas emergency responders are hoping to have the help of unmanned aircraft with the next state disaster.

The UAV can be flown by remote control over a disaster area and transmit real-time images to emergency responders. Emergency crews say a UAV could have been helpful the night Greensburg was struck by a tornado. The power was out and the city was darkened, but a heat detecting camera could have helped locate victims.

"We couldn't fly a helicopter. We couldn't fly an airplane because of the inclement weather. So a UAV would be the perfect system for us to go out and seek out to see if there was anybody that was still rescuable,” said Brigadier General Deborah Rose.

The next step is to get FAA permission to fly a UAV over what’s known as “Crisis City”, which is part of the Great Plans Joint Training Center west of Salina.

Flint Hills Solutions, an Augusta company, will be involved in a test planned for June at Crisis City.

"We will be the first in the state to have a license to fly a technology like an Unmanned Air Vehicle over the next disaster," said Roger Powers, president of Flint Hills Solutions.