THE USE OF DRONES IN MOUNTAIN SEARCH AND RESCUE (GOPR) IN POLAND €“ POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS

Background: Distribution using drones is treated as a developmental and promising form of transport in the future – an innovative way of moving about. The literature review showed a lack of a comprehensive and holistic assessment of the phenomenon of the use of drones in mountain search and rescue in Poland, a research gap. The aim of the article is to perform a quantitative and qualitative assessment of this issue, acquiring new knowledge about the basics of phenomena and observable facts (cognitive aspect).

Methods: The subject of the study are drones. The scope of the study covers only the mountain search and rescue in Poland. The entities under study are central branches of Mountain Volunteer Search and Rescue (GOPR). The study used the method of an in-depth direct interview carried out with mountain rescuers – drone pilots in GOPR.

Results: The result of the analysis of the material from interviews is an assessment of the use of drones in search and rescue in Polish mountains: what drones are already used, in which mountain groups, how many are, how often they are used, what rescue tasks they perform, how many drone pilots there are, what competences they have, what opportunities and problems are associated with the operation of drones in mountainous terrain.

Conclusions: Drones are already used in mountain search and rescue by GOPR – mainly for searching for people and monitoring avalanches. At the moment, the scale of the phenomenon is not very impressive. However, drones are treated as a developmental issue in GOPR. In addition to plans to increase the number of drones, GOPR is also considering the introduction of drones into other categories of rescue tasks as well as providing the current fleet with new additional equipment. The main barriers to further proliferation of drones in GOPR are legal, insurance, financial, and behavioral issues.