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

[AMann]

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 "

It’s not political, there was simply no “misinformation again”. Drones are really good at showing where ocean animals are, and they have shown that great whites are common during certain times of the year close to shore in Southern California. It really isnt a concern if one takes the number of people we have at the beach and in the water year-long vs. the number of shark attacks we have. Yes they do happen, but the concern isnt enough to keep everyone from going in the water over it.

We were just starting out a drone program at an old job I had and one of the projects we played with starting was using drones to map invasive seagrass in lagoons near San Diego. It was amazing how many sharks we could see just off the beach where the streams ran out to the ocean from the lagoons.

 

[MARK (LI)]

All National Parks are Off Limits for Launching, landing, controlling...Grand Canyon has special restrictions in the airspace ...which parks do you live near?..I didn't know of any other than GC where the airspace was off limits...please know that I am not challenging you...just making myself more aware...thanks...Mark

 

[AMann]

All National Parks are Off Limits for Launching, landing, controlling...Grand Canyon has special restrictions in the airspace ...which parks do you live near?..I didn't know of any other than GC where the airspace was off limits...please know that I am not challenging you...just making myself more aware...thanks...Mark

Mark, FAA charts show a 1000’ AGL minimum altitude for all aircraft along much of the central and Northern California coastline. It covers our state beaches and national shorelines as well, starting from PCH (Hwy 1) west in some places along the boundary.

Even recreational flyers should check the charts before they fly anywhere.

 

[Lets Fly]

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

Agreed, the sharks just were not hungry. It ma y change sooner than later, and then it's too late.

 

[Squidinc]

I live on the coast of Australia. His comment that he swims with them, and they aren’t a concern, in my opinion is foolhardy! Tell that to the families of surfers in this country who have had a love one taken by a great white. They are the ocean’s killing machines!

 

[MARK (LI)]

Mark, FAA charts show a 1000’ AGL minimum altitude for all aircraft along much of the central and Northern California coastline. It covers our state beaches and national shorelines as well, starting from PCH (Hwy 1) west in some places along the boundary.

Even recreational flyers should check the charts before they fly anywhere.

@AMann I was just referring to National Parks....but the video in question looks like it was taken in Southern California...but I looked at the San Francisco Sectional, and I can't figure out what would indicate the minimum 1,000 AGL ...it is loaded with controlled airspace...is it in the notes?

 

[Mavic Maxwell]

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

Is there a greater chance of a shark attack if you are wet? LOL

 

[MARK (LI)]

If you got wet in the ocean with the sharks...I would say yes

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I live on the coast of Australia. His comment that he swims with them, and they aren’t a concern, in my opinion is foolhardy! Tell that to the families of surfers in this country who have had a love one taken by a great white. They are the ocean’s killing machines!

Top of the ocean food chain, with Orcas.
Funny though, Orcas seem so much more intelligent, they somehow KHOW humans are not food.
Great White brain must be eat, swim, eat, oh look, a bird !

Yep, even though Great Whites hate human flesh (well, maybe dislike, or if they are really hungry), they see surfers in their black wetsuits, hmmm a big SEAL !!
Their main food source right across southern Australia.

Usually the shark take a bite (or a limb), doesn't like it, moves on . . . too late for the surfer bleeding out, only takes a few minutes.
Lots of leg ropes have been used as tourniquets over the years.

 

[Corsair415]

Planes

@AMann I was just referring to National Parks....but the video in question looks like it was taken in Southern California...but I looked at the San Francisco Sectional, and I can't figure out what would indicate the minimum 1,000 AGL ...it is loaded with controlled airspace...is it in the notes?

Private planes regularly fly below 1000’ agl along the beaches in San Francisco. Fort Funston, which is a beach I the GGNRA allows hang gliders and paragliders are frequently flying around. Last year Fort Funston allowed drones when no gliders were present, but now only allow model aircraft.

 

[OzMavix]

Top of the ocean food chain, with Orcas.
Funny though, Orcas seem so much more intelligent, they somehow KHOW humans are not food.
Great White brain must be eat, swim, eat, oh look, a bird !

Yep, even though Great Whites hate human flesh (well, maybe dislike, or if they are really hungry), they see surfers in their black wetsuits, hmmm a big SEAL !!
Their main food source right across southern Australia.

Usually the shark take a bite (or a limb), doesn't like it, moves on . . . too late for the surfer bleeding out, only takes a few minutes.
Lots of leg ropes have been used as tourniquets over the years.

Yep, pretty common sighting here in South Oz! There is an industry just for shark cage diving here. Have seen a few large pointers while droning along the coast, and for the most part the surfers are happy to see me overhead...they get the heads-up if any nasties come calling! Fortunately I haven't had to do that very often!

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[AMann]

@AMann I was just referring to National Parks....but the video in question looks like it was taken in Southern California...but I looked at the San Francisco Sectional, and I can't figure out what would indicate the minimum 1,000 AGL ...it is loaded with controlled airspace...is it in the notes?

Look south and north of the Bay Area- the 1000’AGL exclusion zone extends in both directions along certain zones along the coast, and the channel islands.

 

[DoomMeister]

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.

Wrong, you can overfly National Park lands. The issue is you cannot takeoff or land (except in emergencies) without permission from the park superintendent.

Military installations are another matter and you need to check both sectional charts and the UAS Facilities Map to know whether you can fly there or not.

 

[MARK (LI)]

Look south and north of the Bay Area- the 1000’AGL exclusion zone extends in both directions along certain zones along the coast, and the channel islands.View attachment 137569

@AMann ...thank you for taking the time to get me the information...I appreciate it...I was looking for something like that on the sectional I was referencing and I did not see it...what site do you use for sectionals?...Thank you...Mark

 

[Tolipa]

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.

You must maintain a minimum altitude of 200' agl to fly over a National Park. That would preclude UAVs because of our altitude limitation.

 

[MARK (LI)]

You must maintain a minimum altitude of 200' agl to fly over a National Park. That would preclude UAVs because of our altitude limitation.

I have not seen anything stipulating a minimum of 200 feet inside National Parks....except possibly wilderness areas within the park...but even if 200 feet is the minimum...you still have 200 feet in which to fly ...most likely any wilderness area within a Park would be too far from the park's border...so you would not be able to make it., anyway .....your battery would expire....and you would not be able to maintain VLOS
If you have anything documenting the 200 feet minimum...would you please post it....not saying you are wrong.....just if it is correct, it would be a valuable bit of information...thank you

 

[jencarta]

My coworker and I just did some flying from San Diego County beaches/lagoons for the Hunting Beach oil spill (yes, oil from that spill made it all the way down there). We did all the flight planning and looking for restrictions and there are a lot of places you can fly from. There are also a lot of protected wildlife and habitat areas that we had to be sure to avoid. We did get permission from CA Department of Fish and Wildlife to fly some of the lagoons.

 

[koco2202]

He called his son to see it, say whaaaaaaaat??

He probably launched the drone from the near by beach, it wasn't that far in the ocean.

 

[clydesur]

Still not sure if this one is a shark or tarpon. Almost lost the drone...

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[AMann]

@AMann ...thank you for taking the time to get me the information...I appreciate it...I was looking for something like that on the sectional I was referencing and I did not see it...what site do you use for sectionals?...Thank you...Mark

Sorry I just saw this- here you go!

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