Good thing it didn't take the helicopter down this time

https://www.videomaker.com/videonews/2018/01/a-dji-drone-actually-dented-a-us-army-black-hawk-helicopter

What an idiot.

He was flying his drone 2.5 miles from where he was physically located, allegedly. I hope they throw the book at him as that kind of stupidity, total irresponsibility, arouses general undeserved hostility towards those of us who operate drones safely and sensibly.

What an idiot.

I wonder how much this will cost for the drone pilot, I hope his insurance covers this or he might loose more then his drone alone.

This has been discussed for a while on the dji forum and a report has been published.
https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR20171214.aspx
Its a shame that a few stupid individuals ruin it for the majority of sensible owners. I believe we are getting drone registration shortly in the UK.
Unfortunately sensible law abiding people will register and follow all the rules whilst people like this will continue to ignore rules until eventually all drones are banned unless you fly commercially.
Its the same with cars, law abiding people will follow every law and drive sensibly, idiots will drink and drive, speed and drive even whilst disqualified.
Its the nature of idiots. 😏

Drone Operator Sues Blackhawk Pilot for Destroying Drone over Staten Island | Aviation Acorn (http://www.aviationacorn.com/2018/01/02/drone-operator-sues-blackhawk-pilot-for-destroying-drone-over-staten-island/)

Ed,

I checked your link and other stories at Aviationacorn.com and they seem to be written as a parody in the style of "The Onion" news.

It'll be funny when the government nails this goofball with a $50k bill for a new rotor! I think they'll need to buy the whole set for balance.

Jeff

Only $50k? Think more like £125k for a Puma 2 blade, I'm pretty sure my Aircraft Technician son in the RAF told me that a while back, apparently operating in the desert causes abrasion and the blades wear out pretty quickly.

Just heard back, the blades are repairable, but they have to be sent back to the manufacturer, for a Puma 2 the repair cost can be as high as £80k, through airbus who make them, all depends on whether the spars have been damaged inside the blade, if that has occurred then its likely scrap and a new blade is required.

I'm a recreational drone operator, and although my business is video, I'm not interested in flying for my business - I'm only a hobbyist interested in WW2 military installations that are all over where I live, and many lost each year through natural erosion - so I'm documenting them.

Drones worry me - I'm not worried about losing it, but I do hate the anger they seem to attract from the public and I try very hard to fly them where there are no people or things to crash into. At the risk of attracting negative comments, I'll share a recent flight. I've been experimenting with different antennas, and while some can give me greater range, they also mean you must point towards the drone more accurately. What I tend to do is fly out over the sea, and see how far I get. So far, my Phantom 3 standard struggles to get more than 800m, line of sight. Usually it's the video link that dies first, and I sent the drone out over the sea, then aimed it back towards the harbour. I looked down and the screen went black.Looking back up, I'd lost sight of it. I hit return to home because not knowing where it was worried me, and it made the usual beeping. The screen lit up again and the image returned. It was flying towards me sideways, so I yawed right and discovered the return path was blocked by a wind turbine. The only high object in the area, and the height avoidance was insufficient. I had flown along the stationary horizontal blade and was heading for the generator housing. UP worked, just.

I should have factored in the likelihood the return path had the obstacle in the way, but losing the video feed made the flight dodgy, like the helicopter case above.

https://youtu.be/1sZTQTIaUQg

A link to a short bit of video.

I cannot believe it - I've done the same thing again. Video of a sailing ship in the harbour, moored next to a huge concrete grain silo. My mistake this time. I flew past the grain silo and the RF link to the monitor died, as the path was blocked - sadly, the control link died too - so the drone was on its own, and it went into go home mode automatically. It suddenly clicked that a repeat of the wind turbine was absolutely on the cards. I looked at the go home height I had set. Was it high enough? The drone suddenly appeared flying over the top of the silo, and I got control back, disengaged auto home and landed the drone. I only reviewed the images today, and I estimate I was extremely lucky, feet this time, mere feet.

I really need to plan better, and be pro-active, because I've been lucky twice now - third time will mean a crash or real damage. I really should know that the line of sight is vital, but I just forgot.

Worse, you forgot to embed the video for us. :-)

Andrew

duh!
Here's the point where signal was lost and RTH engaged - it turns and heads straight back - the take off point being the other side of the building. I just seem to be discovering all the hazards in a very few flights.
https://youtu.be/ONXfhu4FkRs

You were terribly lucky, it seems that it cleared the silo by only a few feet.

N.F.

Wow that was close. Looks like even a few feet more to the right and it wouldn't have been high enough to clear.