Drone vs. Police Helicopter in my own hometown

[seawolf]

We don’t know the facts, those will be presented in court and due process afforded. Bottom line is don’t be that guy who has to defend his/her actions. If the account as stated is found true, it’s serious and prime for an example to be made. DJI needs to accelerate ADS-B on their drones. In addition to smart, likely reduces future liability. If it was in place, this whole thing likely could have been avoided.

 

[sar104]

We don’t know the facts, those will be presented in court and due process afforded. Bottom line is don’t be that guy who has to defend his/her actions. If the account as stated is found true, it’s serious and prime for an example to be made. DJI needs to accelerate ADS-B on their drones. In addition to smart, likely reduces future liability. If it was in place, this whole thing likely could have been avoided.

The ADS-B system on DJI equipment will only be ADS-B in and will only warn pilots about nearby aircraft conflicts, so unfortunately it's not going to prevent anyone from deliberately buzzing a helicopter.

 

[Skyewalkr]

btw i'm not defending the drone operator at all. if he was wrong he should be sanctioned. i'm criticizing the over the top hysteria portrayed in the article as it pertains to the threat of drone vs helicopter. last night i googled news articles of drones either striking or flying into an open helicopter. zero results. it has never happened. then i googled articles regarding birds flying into helicopters (not planes, just helicopters). dozens upon dozens of articles, including incidents of birds flying into open helicopter doors. according to the FAA, there have been 665 encounters over the past 3 years, many quite serious (3 fatalities) but the police, according to the article, are paralyzed by fear of drones? come on man, it's so ridiculous it's funny. birds do NOT tend to avoid helicopters. drones do, backed up by statistical facts

FAA: 665 helicopter bird strikes over the last 3 years

The helicopter industry reported 665 bird strikes in the United States over the last three years, according to figures from the Federal Aviation Administration Strike Database.

www.verticalmag.com

The incidents typically involved medium to large birds, with some penetrating into the aircraft.

 

[larryc43230]

btw i'm not defending the drone operator at all. if he was wrong he should be sanctioned. i'm criticizing the over the top hysteria portrayed in the article as it pertains to the threat of drone vs helicopter. last night i googled news articles of drones either striking or flying into an open helicopter. zero results. it has never happened. then i googled articles regarding birds flying into helicopters (not planes, just helicopters). dozens upon dozens of articles, including incidents of birds flying into open helicopter doors. according to the FAA, there have been 665 encounters over the past 3 years, many quite serious (3 fatalities) but the police, according to the article, are paralyzed by fear of drones? come on man, it's so ridiculous it's funny. birds do NOT tend to avoid helicopters. drones do, backed up by statistical facts

FAA: 665 helicopter bird strikes over the last 3 years

The helicopter industry reported 665 bird strikes in the United States over the last three years, according to figures from the Federal Aviation Administration Strike Database.

www.verticalmag.com

The incidents typically involved medium to large birds, with some penetrating into the aircraft.

It strikes me as very strange to compare bird strikes with drone collisions.

There's probably nothing anyone can do about bird strikes against any aircraft, airplane or helicopter. Birds don't usually comply with laws or FAA rules, only with their instincts. They're (understandably) a bit oblivious that way.

On the other hand, drones are piloted by humans, who are amenable to laws and rules. The moron who flew his drone too close to that helicopter should have had the good sense to avoid that situation. After all (to give him the benefit of the doubt), he's quite a bit smarter than most birds, and knows, or should know, to stay clear of other aircraft.

Bird strikes are unavoidable. Drone strikes can be avoided, but only if drone pilots act responsibly.

Larry

 

[sar104]

btw i'm not defending the drone operator at all. if he was wrong he should be sanctioned. i'm criticizing the over the top hysteria portrayed in the article as it pertains to the threat of drone vs helicopter. last night i googled news articles of drones either striking or flying into an open helicopter. zero results. it has never happened. then i googled articles regarding birds flying into helicopters (not planes, just helicopters). dozens upon dozens of articles, including incidents of birds flying into open helicopter doors. according to the FAA, there have been 665 encounters over the past 3 years, many quite serious (3 fatalities) but the police, according to the article, are paralyzed by fear of drones? come on man, it's so ridiculous it's funny. birds do NOT tend to avoid helicopters. drones do, backed up by statistical facts

FAA: 665 helicopter bird strikes over the last 3 years

The helicopter industry reported 665 bird strikes in the United States over the last three years, according to figures from the Federal Aviation Administration Strike Database.

www.verticalmag.com

The incidents typically involved medium to large birds, with some penetrating into the aircraft.

No - that's not accurate either - birds do avoid helicopters. There are simply far more birds than drones in the air.

 

[Skyewalkr]

It strikes me as very strange to compare bird strikes with drone collisions.

There's probably nothing anyone can do about bird strikes against any aircraft, airplane or helicopter. Birds don't usually comply with laws or FAA rules, only with their instincts. They're (understandably) a bit oblivious that way.

On the other hand, drones are piloted by humans, who are amenable to laws and rules. The moron who flew his drone too close to that helicopter should have had the good sense to avoid that situation. After all (to give him the benefit of the doubt), he's quite a bit smarter than most birds, and knows, or should know, to stay clear of other aircraft.

Bird strikes are unavoidable. Drone strikes can be avoided, but only if drone pilots act responsibly.

Larry

yeah i mean you just proved my point about how absurd it is for them to be so hysterical about drones. drones, controlled by intelligent humans, bound by laws, avoidable conflicts = zero recorded strikes. dumb birds, bound by nothing = 665 incidents.

again, here's the quote from the article:

"Every day, when we fly, that’s a question that goes through all of our minds as pilot-in-command — what if somebody’s flying a drone? What if they don’t know how to fly a drone or lose control of the drone? How do we respond?" Lt. Harris said.

 

[larryc43230]

yeah i mean you just proved my point about how absurd it is for them to be so hysterical about drones. drones, controlled by intelligent humans, bound by laws, avoidable conflicts = zero recorded strikes. dumb birds, bound by nothing = 665 incidents.

again, here's the quote from the article:

"Every day, when we fly, that’s a question that goes through all of our minds as pilot-in-command — what if somebody’s flying a drone? What if they don’t know how to fly a drone or lose control of the drone? How do we respond?" Lt. Harris said.

I can't speak for that helicopter pilot, but I read his statement simply as a plea for drone pilots to know what they're doing before flying a drone, and to try really hard to avoid conflict situations. I don't blame helicopter (or aircraft) pilots for not wanting to have to add a possible drone collision to everything else they have to cope with.

They're cops, not public speakers, but I understood his message loud and clear the first time.

Larry

 

[deleted member 877]

last night i googled news articles of drones either striking or flying into an open helicopter. zero results. it has never happened.

Incorrect. See below quote from DJI and a link to their news article:-

“There has never been a confirmed collision between a drone and an aeroplane, but drones have struck low-flying helicopters at least twice. This led us to focus on AirSense as the next opportunity to make drones safer, and to embrace the challenge of adding ADS-B receivers to consumer drone models that are already in development.”

DJI Adds Airplane And Helicopter Detectors To New Consumer Drones

 

[sar104]

Incorrect. See below quote from DJI and a link to their news article:-

“There has never been a confirmed collision between a drone and an aeroplane, but drones have struck low-flying helicopters at least twice. This led us to focus on AirSense as the next opportunity to make drones safer, and to embrace the challenge of adding ADS-B receivers to consumer drone models that are already in development.”

DJI Adds Airplane And Helicopter Detectors To New Consumer Drones

It is strange that anyone trying to debate this issue is unaware of the New York incident.

 

[deleted member 877]

It is strange that anyone trying to debate this issue is unaware of the New York incident.

Indeed it is.

NTSB Finds Drone Pilot At Fault For Midair Collision With Army Helicopter

 

[Skyewalkr]

alright i give up. i leave you with a warning. keep blindly defending sensationalist crap like this and you'll stoke hysteria (look at that bbc documentary from a couple of weeks ago as exhibit A). hysteria will lead to regulation. regulation is a slippery slope that will soon give way to over-regulation. over-regulation will kill this industry. the problem is that the ability to fly a drone is not protected by a constitutional amendment, so it's going to be like a feeding frenzy once it starts (and many say it already has). a $5 registration fee becomes $500. an hour of safety training becomes 10 hours. 400ft AGL limit becomes 25ft, etc. mark my words, you'll see. no matter what threshold they set, it will never ever be enough. i know from what i speak.

now ordinarily i'd let you guys wallow in your ignorance and learn from your mistakes, but as of last week, i'm a new member of this community, and i'd like to be free to fly my drone(s) at my leisure, not under the heavy hand of a politician who doesn't know crap about drones but has been convinced that they are rampantly flying into helicopters and must be grounded permanently to protect the poor pilots who are paralyzed by fear and can't do their jobs if these things exist. because, you know, it's the common sense thing to do

 

[Skyewalkr]

Indeed it is.

NTSB Finds Drone Pilot At Fault For Midair Collision With Army Helicopter

what can i tell you, google search results failed me. my point is still valid. 665 incidents vs 1. i'd take my chances with a drone any day

 

[sar104]

alright i give up. i leave you with a warning. keep blindly defending sensationalist crap like this and you'll stoke hysteria (look at that bbc documentary from a couple of weeks ago as exhibit A). hysteria will lead to regulation. regulation is a slippery slope that will soon give way to over-regulation. over-regulation will kill this industry. the problem is that the ability to fly a drone is not protected by a constitutional amendment, so it's going to be like a feeding frenzy once it starts (and many say it already has). a $5 registration fee becomes $500. an hour of safety training becomes 10 hours. 400ft AGL limit becomes 25ft, etc. mark my words, you'll see. no matter what threshold they set, it will never ever be enough. i know from what i speak.

now ordinarily i'd let you guys wallow in your ignorance and learn from your mistakes, but as of last week, i'm a new member of this community, and i'd like to be free to fly my drone(s) at my leisure, not under the heavy hand of a politician who doesn't know crap about drones but has been convinced that they are rampantly flying into helicopters and must be grounded permanently to protect the poor pilots who are paralyzed by fear and can't do their jobs if these things exist. because, you know, it's the common sense thing to do

Yes - we understand of course - you know better than all the ignorant types on this forum. Perhaps you should start your own forum where you can wail and fret with more educated, like-minded pilots who prefer exchanging unsupported assertions, logical fallacies and conspiracy theories. You are certainly becoming really tiresome here.

what can i tell you, google search results failed me. my point is still valid. 665 incidents vs 1. i'd take my chances with a drone any day

Naturally it's Google's fault - you would never get anything wrong¡

 

[deleted member 877]

Someone should sell his drone now before he becomes a statistic and get one of these - LOL:-

 

[Skyewalkr]

i get lots of things wrong. that's why i joined this forum, to learn. studying for my part 107 test atm and i am finding the topics amazingly fun and interesting. i regret participating in this thread lol. oh well

 

[deleted member 877]

i get lots of things wrong. that's why i joined this forum, to learn. studying for my part 107 test atm and i am finding the topics amazingly fun and interesting. i regret participating in this thread lol. oh well

OK bye.

 

[g36pilot]

To clarify a couple of points made here:

I can't find any actual report (other than claims in this thread) that the helicopter followed the drone. It was the other way around, the drone was either behind the helicopter or under it according to the pilot. If you have evidence otherwise, please provide the source.

There is also no claim in any report, other than in this thread, that the helicopter attempted to "down" the drone. The chopper followed the drone to the ground and confiscated it when it landed. If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide it.

Larry

Respectfully, your statements above are contradictory.

Here's a report:
"In this case, police responded by following the drone. And, when the drone landed in the playground of Forest Park Elementary School, the chopper did, too."

Officials identify suspect after drone flies close to Columbus police helicopter

Columbus police say a drone played a game of "chicken" with one of their helicopters, and both ended up landing in the playground of an elementary school.

www.10tv.com

And your statement: "The chopper followed the drone to the ground and confiscated it when it landed."

To your second point, I offered reasons why a responsible helicopter pilot would normally not attempt to down a drone. Not that it was attempted.

 

[larryc43230]

Respectfully, your statements above are contradictory.

Here's a report:
"In this case, police responded by following the drone. And, when the drone landed in the playground of Forest Park Elementary School, the chopper did, too."

Officials identify suspect after drone flies close to Columbus police helicopter

Columbus police say a drone played a game of "chicken" with one of their helicopters, and both ended up landing in the playground of an elementary school.

www.10tv.com

And your statement: "The chopper followed the drone to the ground and confiscated it when it landed."

To your second point, I offered reasons why a responsible helicopter pilot would normally not attempt to down a drone. Not that it was attempted.

You are misinterpreting what the news report stated and I repeated here. The helicopter never followed the drone horizontally, as if the drone was in front of the helicopter. The helicopter followed the drone DOWN to the GROUND. This was AFTER the drone descended below the level of the helicopter and landed. There is a world of difference. I would strongly suggest that you read the news item again.

Larry

 

[BikerGeek]

Another moron giving them another reason to ban us. Hope the bb brain faces jail time and fines.

 

[larryc43230]

A reporter for WBNS 10TV, one of the stations that originally broke the drone vs. helicopter story here in Columbus, just posted this brief "update" on her Facebook page: "Charges are still pending against the guy accused of flying this drone." Not much, but it's the only recent information I've found on this story.

Larry