Drone striking Southwest Airlines 737 -- how it was faked

[Donald McPherson]

YouTube (Short URL)

[Noa Put]

Looks fake to me

[Brent Kaplan]

it is fake

Drone striking Southwest Airlines plane is totally fake! - YouTube

[Dave Blackhurst]

A special effects guy showing his "chops"... you can't always believe what you see!

[Donald McPherson]

Had me fooled. But I could totally see this or similar happen for real in the future. But hope not.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Donald McPherson

Had me fooled. But I could totally see this or similar happen for real in the future. But hope not.

A drone wouldn't do anywhere near that amount of damage. Planes are going about 200mph on landing, what do drones max at, 25mph. Let alone mass, strength of build & momentum.


Yeah, its possible some idiot might try flying nearby an airport. I think you're not allowed to within 5 miles, a friend told me his drone (DJI?) won't even take off if its in a no fly zone, just give an error message. I'm surprised tho no drones have crashed on highways and caused accidents. You really do realize how dangerous they can be.

[Jeff Pulera]

How the video was built -

Drone Collision (Composite Breakdown) - YouTube

Regarding realism - with the jet traveling a minimum of 100+ mph, we wouldn't actually see the drone enter the picture over several frames, would just be a streak and gone.

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

I'm surprised tho no drones have crashed on highways and caused accidents. You really do realize how dangerous they can be.

How dangerous they can be? And yet you're surprised that no drones have crashed on highways and caused accidents?

First, depends on what kind of a drone you're talking about. A Mavic falling into a highway probably wouldn't cause much damage. Most of that would be from someone overreacting to having something hit them and driving into other cars. A Phantom a little bit more so, but not that much. Those are the two most popular sizes of drones. An Inspire and an Octocopter can definitely do damage, but you rarely see those, and the price usually keeps them out of reach from the knuckleheads.

As someone who does a lot of driving, a drone over the highway is not even something I'm looking out for.

[Chris Hurd]

Thread title changed...

was: Can clearly see drone hit plane.

now: Drone striking Southwest Airlines 737 -- how it was faked

[Donald McPherson]

Thanks, Chris. I should have done a bit of research before I posted my fake news. But you must admit. To the untrained eye, it was well done.

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Donald McPherson

To the untrained eye, it was well done.

There's also an element of confirmation bias. You believe drones are dangerous, therefore video showing a drone taking off the tip of a wing rings true to you. It looks good, yes, but no, a Phantom drone will not cause that kind of damage. The drone would be shattered, and probably scrape up the paint on the plane.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Gary Huff

How dangerous they can be? And yet you're surprised that no drones have crashed on highways and caused accidents?

First, depends on what kind of a drone you're talking about. A Mavic falling into a highway probably wouldn't cause much damage. Most of that would be from someone overreacting to having something hit them and driving into other cars. A Phantom a little bit more so, but not that much. Those are the two most popular sizes of drones. An Inspire and an Octocopter can definitely do damage, but you rarely see those, and the price usually keeps them out of reach from the knuckleheads.

As someone who does a lot of driving, a drone over the highway is not even something I'm looking out for.

I guess I was referring to driving down the road/highway & all is fine at 50mph, then suddenly this plastic thing lands right in front of you. Completely surprised & caught off guard, you swerve to avoid. Sure, its not very likely to happen, and drones don't crash often, but it only takes once.

I'm aware a small 10 lb drone wouldn't typically do much damage to an automobile, but I was more referring to drivers swerving (rightfully so) to avoid whatever it is that landed on them. Think of traffic on I-95 or something.

[Jeff Pulera]

"a small 10 lb drone wouldn't typically do much damage to an automobile"

"A Mavic falling into a highway probably wouldn't cause much damage"

Surprised at the comments inferring that a drone strike to a car wouldn't do much damage. I recently caught a rock to the windshield and it almost broke all the way through. A drone weighing several pounds with a NiCad battery brick at 70+ MPH? No thank you sir.

Regards,

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Jeff Pulera

drone weighing several pounds with a NiCad battery brick at 70+ MPH? No thank you sir.

You apparently don't have any experience with these devices if you think a Mavic or even a Phantom weighs "several pounds".

Plus, most of the time you notice a rock is when it hits your windshield. Given the nature of a drone, hitting your windshield is odds I'd be willing to play. A rock kicked up from the ground by a truck or other vehicle is far more concerning.

[Paul Reeber]

Planes are designed to take bird strikes and they are much denser than drone. I don't think a drone could do any significant damage.