Drone captures encounter between surfers and great white shark near San Diego

[wco81]

Drone captures close encounter between surfers and great white shark (2021) — CNN

Photographer Scott Fairchild captured the moment a great white shark swam past two surfers in the waters near San Diego, CA.

apple.news

ok interesting video.

but what I really want to know is, was the guy allowed to fly legally over the ocean?

where did he launch from?

did he fly over beaches to get this video?

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I think I would have been inclined to get out of the water lol.

 

[Gagey52]

I liked his comment, that humans are not on a sharks radar. They are definitely not on my radar. Up here if it’s not sharks it’s crocodiles, I’ll stay out of their way. They can keep the water.
Regards

 

[dirkclod]

Why could he not be flying over the water. Didn’t see where he took of from but in any case I’m glad it wasn’t me on those boards

 

[wco81]

Why could he not be flying over the water. Didn’t see where he took of from but in any case I’m glad it wasn’t me on those boards

I’d love to be able to fly over surfers.

a lot of beaches though are part of state or even national parks.

the rumored telephoto camera in the MaVic 3 would be great for surfers.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I’d love to be able to fly over surfers.

a lot of beaches though are part of state or even national parks.

Where are you ? (Country) VVV

Edit - Had a quick look back through your posts, Perth Western Australia ?
You should be fine there, even the many coastal NPs you can fly in WA, and below high tide mark is not parks.
There are marine parks around the SW area.

Here, as hobbyists, we need to keep 30m (98.4') away from people laterally, other than that we can fly and video / photograph surfers, fly over beaches, and oceans . . . as long as they aren't marine parks, which is fairly minimal here.

 

[dirkclod]

Here we all have is mud surfers Seriously I guess it’s just where you are. I know to many members here that fly around surfers that know they are being videoed that didn’t love it. They want it.

 

[wco81]

I’m in Northern CA, about 400-500 miles north of San Diego.

there are definitely marine wildlife preserves on some coastal areas in California.

 

[dirkclod]

Boy it sucks to be an the west coast huh. I couldn’t deal with
living there now or the east coast now trying to fly. Here it’s no problem. Here all we have is COE land. No problems.

 

[MikeDo3s]

I think I would have been inclined to get out of the water lol.

I think I would have been inclined to get out of the water lol.

Yea CNN misinformation again. There are incidents when they will mistake you for a seal and then it's too late.
Idiot " They're not a concern "

 

[W5CI]

Boy it sucks to be an the west coast huh. I couldn’t deal with
living there now or the east coast now trying to fly. Here it’s no problem. Here all we have is COE land. No problems.

You just touched on a question I have been wanting an answer to. as a part 107 operator, I know I cant fly in National Parks and most state parks, but I dont find anything saying that COE parks are restricted. is this correct?

 

[W5CI]

Boy it sucks to be an the west coast huh. I couldn’t deal with
living there now or the east coast now trying to fly. Here it’s no problem. Here all we have is COE land. No problems.

so are you saying that I can fly over COE parks as a 107 OP. thank you

 

[dirkclod]

so are you saying that I can fly over COE parks as a 107 OP. thank you

Not a 107 but we have the Waterway here with COE hunting
tracts on both sides. We also have 3 locks in just our county.
There are 2 large camping parks at several of them. I have never
flew any where near them. Just over the lock pools and hunting
parts. To answer your question I can’t say. What I can do here
you might can’t where you are. I park across from the lock house
lots and the lockmaster just waves at me. That’s where I get the
snowbird boat pictures.

 

[MARK (LI)]

Actually, if you are interested ...SOME National Forests allow limited flying within them...here is info on one
Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Other Activities ...I was out in the Southwest just last week...saw this sign in one of the National Parks...

 

[tlswift58]

No reason they can't fly over the ocean. Airspace in the US is governed by the FAA and while we cannot legally take-off and land in National Parks and now many city / state parks - that does not mean we can't fly near or over them.

Many places in San Diego to fly from that is legal. Truly depends on where this was captured, as news say San Diego, but that covers a huge area.

No idea where they may have launched from as the story would require exactly where this incident happened.

I fly over beaches in North Carolina when I'm there visiting and never had an issue. I don't "buzz" people or typically even get close to them, as I respect their privacy and not intending to capture them - they just happen to be there at the time. Same rules when I'm flying locally as well.

If the pilot took off from a non restricted zone; then they are fully legal to fly. Did they go past VLOS - who knows? Does seem the drone and surfers were pretty far out from land, but who says he was on land. May have been on a boat near by - esp if the person is a shark hunter / watcher. That's where apps like Aloft / B4UFLY / etc come into play - but they are not all inclusive - most state and local rules of restrictions do not show up. You then have to Google search restriction in the area you want to fly for the local / state ones. Sadly, too many states and now cities / towns now restrict drones from taking off / landing in their boundaries. I think we all know the reasons for that.

As stated above - surfers are the types WHO WANT pics / videos of them in action. Yet, like always - keeping a safe distance is a must since surfers and others (hang gliders / etc.) can make some quick moves and you never know when a drone will drop from the sky.

 

[W5CI]

Not a 107 but we have the Waterway here with COE hunting
tracts on both sides. We also have 3 locks in just our county.
There are 2 large camping parks at several of them. I have never
flew any where near them. Just over the lock pools and hunting
parts. To answer your question I can’t say. What I can do here
you might can’t where you are. I park across from the lock house
lots and the lockmaster just waves at me. That’s where I get the
snowbird boat pictures.

thank you, I am in Arkansas and would like to fly at COE RV parks when I am there, I am not allowed to fly in the state parks here.

 

[tlswift58]

Actually, if you are interested ...SOME National Forests allow limited flying within them...here is info on one
Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Other Activities ...I was out in the Southwest just last week...saw this sign in one of the National Parks...View attachment 137538

National Parks and forests under the Forest Service are 2 different things. I think ALL National Parks are drone NO FLIES, without special permission - which typically will never happen.

The main restrictions in / on Forest Service lands are in Wilderness areas. They are restricted from take-off / landing in them. Otherwise, here in the S.E. - flying in FS areas is not real issue. Most of our waterfalls are in FS lands, which drone pilots fly in all the time.

Best to check on the FS pages near where you plan to fly to make 100% sure it allows drones, as apps don't typically cover them all. Would be nice if apps did incorporate esp state no fly zones as it gets crazy trying to track down correct info on whether it is allowed or not. Just flew in Colorado Springs, CO and in CO they have state laws and then Denver has rules on flying in parks - that go way past Denver city limits. Yet, when researching rules for flying in the Garden of the Gods, they do have a couple of short time frames during off season that drones can be flown - outside of where people are congested. As a drone pilot we can take off and land outside of these areas and fly in that airspace until the FAA says we can't. All FAA rules still apply - like VLOS / etc, so fly safe and within the rules.

 

[dirkclod]

thank you, I am in Arkansas and would like to fly at COE RV parks when I am there, I am not allowed to fly in the state parks here.

I would ask where you check in at but being a RV park I would
think you couldn’t.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Yea CNN misinformation again. There are incidents when they will mistake you for a seal and then it's too late.

Is that post as you intended it to be?

 

[moabdds]

No reason they can't fly over the ocean. Airspace in the US is governed by the FAA and while we cannot legally take-off and land in National Parks and now many city / state parks - that does not mean we can't fly near or over them.

Many places in San Diego to fly from that is legal. Truly depends on where this was captured, as news say San Diego, but that covers a huge area.

No idea where they may have launched from as the story would require exactly where this incident happened.

I fly over beaches in North Carolina when I'm there visiting and never had an issue. I don't "buzz" people or typically even get close to them, as I respect their privacy and not intending to capture them - they just happen to be there at the time. Same rules when I'm flying locally as well.

If the pilot took off from a non restricted zone; then they are fully legal to fly. Did they go past VLOS - who knows? Does seem the drone and surfers were pretty far out from land, but who says he was on land. May have been on a boat near by - esp if the person is a shark hunter / watcher. That's where apps like Aloft / B4UFLY / etc come into play - but they are not all inclusive - most state and local rules of restrictions do not show up. You then have to Google search restriction in the area you want to fly for the local / state ones. Sadly, too many states and now cities / towns now restrict drones from taking off / landing in their boundaries. I think we all know the reasons for that.

As stated above - surfers are the types WHO WANT pics / videos of them in action. Yet, like always - keeping a safe distance is a must since surfers and others (hang gliders / etc.) can make some quick moves and you never know when a drone will drop from the sky.

I live next to two national parks and you cannot fly over them, no matter where you take off and land. That's like saying you can overfly a military installation if you take off and land outside the base perimeter. Bad things will happen to you in either situation if you get caught.