Friend hits a helicopter tread at mid day. No reported event for all she knows.

[jspil]

I have definitely had helicopters come from seemingly nowhere at low altitude before. It never happened so fast that I was unable to immediately drop in altitude and land though. That being said I was not there and don't have all the facts. I do know that usually any story that starts with "my friend" means the story teller is most likely the one it happened to.

 

[BigAl07]

I have definitely had helicopters come from seemingly nowhere at low altitude before. It never happened so fast that I was unable to immediately drop in altitude and land though. That being said I was not there and don't have all the facts. I do know that usually any story that starts with "my friend" means the story teller is most likely the one it happened to.

Kind of like "asking for a friend"?

I whole heartedly agree.

 

[Dave Maine]

The situation clearly illustrates the reluctance of the drone community to accept the law that clearly prioritizes manned aircraft over unmanned. It is hard to see why anyone would prioritize otherwise.

 

[Vic Moss]

I'm going to assume this is true...

Therefore, your friend is 100% at fault. It is up to us to avoid any and all manned aviation. We are the low men on the totem pole.

Also, this is why you NEVER rely on airsense. The amount of airspace that required aircraft to broadcast via ADS-B is minimal at best. And even then, you never rely on it. I still see aircraft not broadcasting in one of the busiest Class D airspace in the country. I fly there frequently and use an app to track aircraft.

This (if true) is a very good example of pilot recklessness.

 

[Vic Moss]

Sorry, but due to the fact, that drone pilots get blamed for everything, she wasn't willing to give any specifics except what I described. Crazy (Mod Removed Language)) if you ask me.

"drone pilots get blamed for everything". Because it's our fault. Period!

 

[dkuhne]

Helicopters surely don’t fly as low as 120 Ft???

 

[Vic Moss]

Helicopters surely don’t fly as low as 120 Ft???

Yes they do. And legally can. But I do doubt her story.

 

[Cami]

And yes I have had a Helicopter come into my operational area at lower than 500' AGL.... when they do power line inspections they are right above the height of the towers..... but I heard the rotors and dropped below the tree canopy ...... I tilted the camera up to catch the R-22 not that far away I was at 77' AGL

Helicopter or Airplane vs Drone, the Drone operator is going to be at fault every time.

But this was in June 2017 in Pelham, isn't it? The law has changed since then.

 

[Jet skier]

Doubtful. Isn’t it possible that she didn’t have time to react?
If the 150 foot altitude is correct, would that not be a bit of violation on the part of the heli pilot????

Not if they were taking off or landing

 

[Starz]

Not if they were taking off or landing

That wasn’t mentioned

 

[Barbara]

you mean your friend violated all sorts of FAA regulations, starting with not yielding the right of way to the helicopter, not maintaining horizontal and vertical separation, failure to operate in a safe manner, etc etc etc.

If you are looking to blame anyone but your friend for this you are looking in the wrong place...

how the **** didn't she HEAR a helicopter?

How did she not see it?

Now you know why we are going to have to have ADS-B output soon your friend doing stupid things will show up on Foreflight

Seems a rather harsh assessment, though the story does sound a bit off.

We have helicopters and fixed wing aircraft fly over our house regularly. They frequently fly low and fast. It gives you very little warning, determining where they are coming from can be difficult and you don't see them until the last moment. (We are surrounded by trees, I believe its called a forest)

Normally I do have enough time to return home, but I have been caught on occasion, in which case I descend immediately to tree top height. I figure if they're flying that low, they have more serious issues than my drone.

 

[Kmarrott]

The ADS-B obviously didn't receive any signal. That's suggests a Heli approved not to send a signal. You may not have the experience, but when a helicopter flies over a tree line at 100mph, you can't hear the engines until, they are right over you. Imagine a wall of trees behind you and an open space in front. I've been there. Ask some other people in this forum. You can't see or hear helis that fly like that, until the last second. What solution is there? Never take off near the edge of a woodline/treeline? That's the only solution in my opinion.

Actually...an oncoming helicopter is easily heard especially at that altitude and speed. The helicopter is in it's noisiest attitude when coming toward you and can't be "not heard". I've been around them and flown them for decades. The drone pilot's actions may have put the lives of the helicopter crew at risk. The helicopter pilot may have also been at fault if the facts, as described, are true.

 

[Slade]

Hard to beat visual awareness. I have lots of heli traffic in my area, and, yes, sometimes those little buggers fly at 150 feet. So, I’m always scanning the skies before liftoff. I also use Flightradar24 to see what’s up.

 

[NDWildBill]

Google Florida man Lots of strange stuff down there in FLA

 

[hiflyer201]

did you check her pants for smoke?

 

[cgmaxed]

This is how the FAA defines right of way for commercial UAV's - recreational use also has to yield to all manned aircraft. If there is contact between any manned aviation and a drone it is almost always going to be the UAV operator's fault.

§107.37 Operation near aircraft; right-of-way rules.​

(a) Each small unmanned aircraft must yield the right of way to all aircraft, airborne vehicles, and launch and reentry vehicles. Yielding the right of way means that the small unmanned aircraft must give way to the aircraft or vehicle and may not pass over, under, or ahead of it unless well clear.

(b) No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft so close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard.

Question for you or anyone else. Have you ever been standing on the edge of a wooded area/ forest, with an open space in front of you, when a seriously low flying helicopter flew over you from the direction of the forest? I have, when i was a teen. I was actually being chased because someone told the police there was a burglar in the neighborhood. My friend and I were slapped on the wrist and told to go home and not walk around at night with flashlights. Go figure. Anyway, True story. It's amazing how the helicopters sound was suppressed by the trees when the aircraft is flying low. One second you here a massively loud noise, then the next second when it goes back over the trees (doing it's circular pattern) I couldn't even discern where the noise was coming from or where it was going. The noise just becomes generalized, like it's all over the place.

 

[cgmaxed]

And yes I have had a Helicopter come into my operational area at lower than 500' AGL.... when they do power line inspections they are right above the height of the towers..... but I heard the rotors and dropped below the tree canopy ...... I tilted the camera up to catch the R-22 not that far away I was at 77' AGL

Helicopter or Airplane vs Drone, the Drone operator is going to be at fault every time.

Just imagine if that helicopter was flying straight at you, but a little lower going around maybe 80mph. You may have heard a low hum, i guess. I suppose the lesson here is, if you hear a helicopter whatsoever, no matter the direction you think it is or is not, just get you drone below the treeline asap.

 

[neggy]

But this was in June 2017 in Pelham, isn't it? The law has changed since then.

Nice to see you know meta data.....

the law has not changed, piloted aircraft have always the right of way over sUAV's

 

[tlswift58]

you mean your friend violated all sorts of FAA regulations, starting with not yielding the right of way to the helicopter, not maintaining horizontal and vertical separation, failure to operate in a safe manner, etc etc etc.

If you are looking to blame anyone but your friend for this you are looking in the wrong place...

how the **** didn't she HEAR a helicopter?

How did she not see it?

Now you know why we are going to have to have ADS-B output soon your friend doing stupid things will show up on Foreflight

Somebody has jumper to A LOT of conclusions without any proof or facts.

A lot of questions for sure. Was she in a "restricted / NFZ" when she flew? Maybe, don't know. If she had checked to make sure she was clear to fly and got "zero" indications of manned aircraft flying in her area and at only 150 feet - then the chopper "may" have been flying too low.

We have power company chopper flying at treetop level here in the mountains "trimming" trees along power lines with hanging chainsaws. I have flown from my yard - which is in no "restricted / NFZ" when they were around. Barely hear the chopper, but can hear the saws when cutting. Since they were a good 100 yards away from my home - I popped up to treetop level and got some photo's / video's of them in action. When they started to move - I brought the drone down below treetop (about 75 ft) and stayed clear.

A bit different in a place like FL - where it's pretty flat, but does have 75+ ft pine / other trees.

Maybe they can provide the flight logs and someone can check them to "verify" the story and lack of real info. I'm inclined to think it got hit with prop wash and sent to the ground.

Until then - ALL SHEER SPECULATION!

 

[cgmaxed]

Google Florida man Lots of strange stuff down there in FLA

She doesn't live hear. I just have private chats with her on occassion. It's cool to know a girl that like flying drones.