Calif. tourist fined $20K for out-of-control drone that landed at airport in Las Vegas flight in 2018

[sar104]

Thanks @sar104. Perhaps even viable to fly to any visibly safe spot to land, even away from the home point.

My takeaway from this news story is that this situation could happen even in an otherwise safe and legal takeoff spot, so good for all of us to know how to recognize and respond safely.

I bet many of us have never attempted ATTI mode, fearing damage or flyaway, so probably a good thing to practice in a safe wide open field.

That's easier said than done in the moment, since some panic sets in when we lose normal control, or even just video feed and telemetry in the app.

I really recommend practicing in ATTI mode. It's not going to happen often, especially if you take care to verify the aircraft heading before takeoff, but you don't want to be facing it for the first time in a complex or windy situation.

 

[sar104]

And, needless to say - you don't want to be facing ATTI mode for the first time in surface Class B airspace less than a couple of miles from a major international airport., with the wind blowing in that direction.

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks @sar104. Perhaps even viable to fly to any visibly safe spot to land, even away from the home point.

My takeaway from this news story is that this situation could happen even in an otherwise safe and legal takeoff spot, so good for all of us to know how to recognize and respond safely.

I bet many of us have never attempted ATTI mode, fearing damage or flyaway, so probably a good thing to practice in a safe wide open field.

That's easier said than done in the moment, since some panic sets in when we lose normal control, or even just video feed and telemetry in the app.

I think a large # of today's sUAS operators fall into the group with the following traits (no offense intended here):

• 1) Does not understand the various modes especially modes occurring during errors etc
• 2) Does not know how the aircraft sensors/systems actually work and what happens when they are not operating within normal parameters
• 3) Does not know how to operate the aircraft in a manual or semi-manual flight mode
• 4) Does not carry out proper What-If scenarios for safe flight

I fully understand it's not specifically fun/exciting to dig into the inner workings of a new and fun Autonomous aircraft. It does so much of the "Work" for you right out of the box so why worry about all those boring What-Ifs etc. . .

 

[KeithLa]

I think a large # of today's sUAS operators fall into the group with the following traits (no offense intended here):

• 1) Does not understand the various modes especially modes occurring during errors etc
• 2) Does not know how the aircraft sensors/systems actually work and what happens when they are not operating within normal parameters
• 3) Does not know how to operate the aircraft in a manual or semi-manual flight mode
• 4) Does not carry out proper What-If scenarios for safe flight

I fully understand it's not specifically fun/exciting to dig into the inner workings of a new and fun Autonomous aircraft. It does so much of the "Work" for you right out of the box so why worry about all those boring What-Ifs etc. . .

Yup. And in our defense, why would we? It's been 18 months since my first flight, but I was pretty thorough (I think) in my self-training (incl. immersing in this forum), and don't recall any DJI or FAA tutorials or guidance suggesting ATTI practice.

And as @sar104 mentions, *mid-flight* ATTI from compass interference is rare, vs. satellite loss and seemingly much more relatively frequent RF controller disconnects from tree and structure obstruction. Hence I'm still pretty curious what might have caused this, esp. if the drone was high altitude at the time. Apologies if this has already been addressed above, but if not, I'm interested to hear others' speculations, esp. those who've witnessed it happen.

 

[sar104]

Yup. And in our defense, why would we? It's been 18 months since my first flight, but I was pretty thorough (I think) in my self-training (incl. immersing in this forum), and don't recall any DJI or FAA tutorials or guidance suggesting ATTI practice.

And as @sar104 mentions, *mid-flight* ATTI from compass interference is rare, vs. satellite loss and seemingly much more relatively frequent RF controller disconnects from tree and structure obstruction. Hence I'm still pretty curious what might have caused this, esp. if the drone was high altitude at the time. Apologies if this has already been addressed above, but if not, I'm interested to hear others' speculations, esp. those who've witnessed it happen.

Mid-flight ATTI is not uncommon when due to taking off from magnetically distorted locations, which is by far the most common cause of yaw errors. My comment was that it is easy to avoid by confirming that the initial aircraft heading is correct. Unfortunately it requires the raw magnetometer data from the DAT file to confirm the cause, and that's not available here.

 

[KeithLa]

Got it, so I infer the most likely cause was unnoticed mag distortion prior to takeoff. I believe it was clear admonishments by you and others on this forum that engrained compass heading check in my pre-flight habits, hundreds of flights ago for me.

 

[Chip]

An employee of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency lost control of his DJI Phantom which crashed onto the grounds of the White House a few years ago. It caused a national emergency with massive federal, state and local response. I think the FAA fined the guy $5500 and called it good. Just for comparison sake.

 

[AK47AR]

And ignoring official FAA communication, combined with not understanding the legalities put this fellow in the deep kimshee

I believe he may not have known about the FAA correspondence because those very papers sit in my living room today. Collected from the trashcan near the mailbox of the apartment complex I shared with this drone pilot.

My story with this pilot started when he approached me while flying and he told me his unbelievable story of which I took with a grain of salt at the time.

He has since moved out of the complex and the new tenants opened then tossed the envelope in trash which was then retrieved by another neighbor who brought it to me knowing that I fly drones and had previously told him the man's story.

So it's possible he didnt get the initial papers because he had moved. By the time he was reached, the fine had increased.

I too have a P3S. Got a Mavic as soon as I could. That thing was super sketch.

 

[Bobvt]

I agree! This is good. As a long time RC pilot it's about time some action is being taken against those who don't know or don't care about rules. Don't get me wrong, I am now ordered a Mavic Mini, and have other "inexpensive" drones (the term drone in my opinion does not include RC aircraft). I have flown RC aircraft for years. Never had a problem,, nor saw anyone have a problem. Drones can be a wonderful tool. But it only takes a few to ruin it for everyone.

Your last line happens every day and effects all of us

 

[Clipper707]

I'm in awe of sar104's ability to reconstruct a flight.

 

[JY-tek]

This incident brings up something I have wondered for awhile. What would the authorities (FFA, etc.) do if I was flying perfectly legal, but only a couple of miles outside a no-fly area (airport, etc.) and the drone goes bezerk and tries to do a RTH or something else and ends up flying right into the no-fly area?? I've really wondered about this more in relation to flying over people, etc.. When doing a RTH, the drone is very likely to fly over people, cars, etc.. How are these sorts of accidents regarded and handled??

 

[Thomas B]

This incident brings up something I have wondered for awhile. What would the authorities (FFA, etc.) do if I was flying perfectly legal, but only a couple of miles outside a no-fly area (airport, etc.) and the drone goes bezerk and tries to do a RTH or something else and ends up flying right into the no-fly area?? I've really wondered about this more in relation to flying over people, etc.. When doing a RTH, the drone is very likely to fly over people, cars, etc.. How are these sorts of accidents regarded and handled??

Likely the drone will stop and hover at the edge of any NFZ and if you don’t have controller contact it will land itself when the battery get low. If you are inside a NFZ when it be comes active the drone will immediately autoland.
Above in the case that the software is not hacked.
You can request clearance for regular NFZs like airports through the FAA’s DroneZone. I have one that encroaches a mile or less into 2 airport NFZs.... there may be limits on altitude in this case.

 

[BigAl07]

Ultimately whatever happens with the aircraft is the operator's responsibility. If it was 100% unavoidable (usually not the case) the FAA will most likely allow for that in their decisions. But it's rare (very rare) that there is no fault by the operator either in poor decision making, poor procedures, lack of ability, or flying beyond one's experience level (or a combination of all the above).

The moment you make the decision to fly the aircraft, from that point on, you're responsible for the outcome of the flight.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

Extremely high fines for UAS violations relative to things like murder are indicative of an agencies inability to enforce legislation. They fine ridiculous amounts as a deterrent. Same tactics are used in fishing/hunting regulation for this exact reason. It's incredibly easy to get away with violations due to a lack of enforcement so they create absurd punishments to scare a majority of the general public into compliance.

 

[sar104]

Extremely high fines for UAS violations relative to things like murder are indicative of an agencies inability to enforce legislation. They fine ridiculous amounts as a deterrent. Same tactics are used in fishing/hunting regulation for this exact reason. It's incredibly easy to get away with violations due to a lack of enforcement so they create absurd punishments to scare a majority of the general public into compliance.

The primary punishment for murder is not a fine.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

The primary punishment for murder is not a fine.

Guy earlier compared low fines and/or prison time for manslaughter charges vs UAS violations.

 

[sar104]

Guy earlier compared low fines and/or prison time for manslaughter charges vs UAS violations.

I know - I commented on it earlier too. It's a false comparison.

 

[Chip]

I wonder if registering your Mavic means that you agree to accept service by mail or email of any FAA fine or citation at physical address or email address listed on file and its your obligation to give FAA notice if you move or heaven forbid go on vacation.

 

[New England Droning]

And ignoring official FAA communication, combined with not understanding the legalities put this fellow in the deep kimshee

I wonder how many know what Kimshee is without looking it up?

 

[Thomas B]

I wonder how many know what Kimshee is without looking it up?

Texasism for solid human wastes.