DJI Drone crashed into my vehicle at car show

[Aerial Edge]

UPDATE: Their homeowners insurance called me this afternoon and told me they will be paying the claim in full. I am free to use any shop I want which is also a relief. Rental car paid for as well. Thankful I didn’t have to go another route in dealing with this.

Appreciate you all for the help and advice. I am now much more educated on drone laws and regulations than I ever thought I would be ?

Glad they are making you Whole again. I'm sure the kid and his father are learning a valuable lesson. People really do not think flying a drone is a big deal, and generally its not if all goes well. It is when things go wrong it can be a big deal. Good thing is no one was hurt, and the damage will be taken care of.

 

[Bxr532001]

Sorry about the damage to your vehicle. Since there was extensive damage, it incident should be reported to the FAA. Is the pilot licensed and is the drone registered?

 

[jimlips]

Glad to hear the drone owner's homeowner insurance is covering this.

I'd be interested to find out what caused the drone to "fall out of the sky". That generally does not occur.

The photo of the drone in the first message looks like a DJI Phantom 4 (a pretty pricey drone). It has lots of protection in the firmware to keep it from "falling out of the sky".

If the battery gets too low, it will automatically land very gently before the battery dies.
If the battery was not securely latched in place, it could have come dislodged. That would have the effect of the drone falling out of the sky.
The only thing the pilot could have done to make it "fall out of the sky" or held the control sticks a certain way (almost impossible to do accidentally) for a few seconds that will power all 4 motors off. But why would he have done that?

Any other ideas?

 

[julius13]

Looks like. Phantom 4 possibly Pro. I can’t tell since the camera isn’t visible. I also don’t see any registration number on the drone. I’d try to obtain the flight log. This person had to be flying at a relatively high speed to do this much damage or it fell like a rock from a very high elevation. Either way this is reckless and inexcusable behavior. My thought is this is an in-experienced pilot who either doesn’t know the rules or just doesn’t care. Probably thought they would get some “cool” shots to show their friends and post on the internet.
Bottom line is everything points to arrogance, ignorance, and disregard for the rules. Gives us all a bad rap on how people conceive drone operators.

 

[KingRat]

UPDATE: Their homeowners insurance called me this afternoon and told me they will be paying the claim in full. I am free to use any shop I want which is also a relief. Rental car paid for as well. Thankful I didn’t have to go another route in dealing with this.

Appreciate you all for the help and advice. I am now much more educated on drone laws and regulations than I ever thought I would be ?

What a great outcome for both parties.
I have to admit that I am confused by the insurance company covering 'illegal and negligent flying accidents'. My experience of insurers is that they use any excuse to wriggle out of liability - flying illegally would certainly render any policy void over here, but I am glad it doesn't work like that in the Land of the Free.

Is your Rover one of the proper, British ones, or one of the new Indian Tata ones?

 

[JoelP]

I am a Part 107 commercial drone pilot, so I have spent some time studying the rules.

It is a violation to fly over people and moving vehicles. While your car wasn’t moving I am guessing that if it was a car show this drone was being flown over people. If you have $10K of damage a pilot should know that a report needs to be filed with the FAA within 1 month.

If the pilot was flying in a Class B airspaces he would have had to file a request with the LAANC system. I assume that was done or a DJI drone like that Phantom wouldn’t have been able to lift off.

Good luck pursuing compensation. A pilot flying in such an area show understand the risk that he/she was taking.

 

[MaxE1955!]

Did you think to contact the event organizer? Was he (the pilot) contracted by the organizers to video or photograph the event? Did the organizers carry ( or were required) any type of insurance covering unforeseen damages? Most events, especially events involving millions of dollars of publicly displayed gear, may have been required by the facility and/or governing body in order to meet the requirements of their permit to hold the event. Lots of additional unanswered questions and plenty of avenues to pursue recovery of your damages. Good luck!

 

[Thomas B]

Did you think to contact the event organizer? Was he (the pilot) contracted by the organizers to video or photograph the event? Did the organizers carry ( or were required) any type of insurance covering unforeseen damages? Most events, especially events involving millions of dollars of publicly displayed gear, may have been required by the facility and/or governing body in order to meet the requirements of their permit to hold the event. Lots of additional unanswered questions and plenty of avenues to pursue recovery of your damages. Good luck!

Please see post #82 where OP explains his compensation.

 

[MaxE1955!]

Ahhhh. Great news. Didn’t realize he had received the good news.

 

[JohnLietzke]

Sorry for your situation.

This is just my two cents.

I would go back to my insurance company as it is an expensive factory custom vehicle and restate the issue. Under the circumstances I would ask them to repair the vehicle again and attempt to work my way up in the hierarchy of decision making. If the insurance company ultimately refuses, then I would cancel my policy and find a company that is more customer oriented and does not nitpick coverage and claims. The insurance company's stance is telling in regards to the coverage you would receive in a catastrophic incident. If you have multiple vehicles and other policies with company you may have more leverage to get the repair done.

Just because it is class B air spaces does not mean the pilot was doing anything wrong or illegal. The pilot may have had FFA automated approval from LAANC to fly in a restricted air space and was flying in a safe manner. In which case it could become a costly legal battle with DJI and/or the pilot. As it hit a parked car I do not think the FFA provisions would apply to flying over vehicles. From my research in the past the flying over people or crowds provision would have to directly be proven with evidence. The FFA does thorough and lengthy investigation which would not resolve your problem in the near term.

It is strange that two drones fell out of the sky at the locations in such a short time period is a similar manner. Which brings into question another possibility. Was someone or some entity intentionally sabotaging flying drones. It could be by means of jamming or interfering with the signal both of which are far more serious FCC and FAA violations. Under that scenario or if a defense was raised you could be tied up for years in civil litigation.

I would consider reaching out to the drone operators and comparing information on what happened. By cooperating and voluntarily getting the flight drone logs it might yield invaluable information for which a police report could be filed under the belief that the drones were intentionally interfered with. Providing that report to your insurance company may be perceived by them as an act of vandalism or the equivalent. The insurance company may be more apt to cover your repair.

I am sure someone on this forum has the experience to interpret those logs.

 

[Thomas B]

Sorry for your situation.

This is just my two cents.

I would go back to my insurance company as it is an expensive factory custom vehicle and restate the issue. Under the circumstances I would ask them to repair the vehicle again and attempt to work my way up in the hierarchy of decision making. If the insurance company ultimately refuses, then I would cancel my policy and find a company that is more customer oriented and does not nitpick coverage and claims. The insurance company's stance is telling in regards to the coverage you would receive in a catastrophic incident. If you have multiple vehicles and other policies with company you may have more leverage to get the repair done.

Just because it is class B air spaces does not mean the pilot was doing anything wrong or illegal. The pilot may have had FFA automated approval from LAANC to fly in a restricted air space and was flying in a safe manner. In which case it could become a costly legal battle with DJI and/or the pilot. As it hit a parked car I do not think the FFA provisions would apply to flying over vehicles. From my research in the past the flying over people or crowds provision would have to directly be proven with evidence. The FFA does thorough and lengthy investigation which would not resolve your problem in the near term.

It is strange that two drones fell out of the sky at the locations in such a short time period is a similar manner. Which brings into question another possibility. Was someone or some entity intentionally sabotaging flying drones. It could be by means of jamming or interfering with the signal both of which are far more serious FCC and FAA violations. Under that scenario or if a defense was raised you could be tied up for years in civil litigation.

I would consider reaching out to the drone operators and comparing information on what happened. By cooperating and voluntarily getting the flight drone logs it might yield invaluable information for which a police report could be filed under the belief that the drones were intentionally interfered with. Providing that report to your insurance company may be perceived by them as an act of vandalism or the equivalent. The insurance company may be more apt to cover your repair.

I am sure someone on this forum has the experience to interpret those logs.

Please see post #82 where OP explains his compensation. OP is neither owner or pilot of the drone.

guess it’s time to close this thread.

 

[DoomMeister]

16 years old to get a PPL, to get a driver's license, 16 to fly a drone...leaving the scene of an accident sounds fair

He recovered the aircraft and information was exchanged. Leaving the scene doesn’t apply.