Helicopter vs Mavic 2 Zoom

[Saladshooter]

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LINK to article about the incident:

Helicopter / Drone Mid Air Collision Filming Off-Road Race

 

[Don Testme]

Ground spotters WITH RADIOS would have prevented this easily. BUT NO, the FAA won't let spotters use radios to communicate with the UAV PIC.

Also, the UAV video saw the helicopter close by, I just don't know if the UAV PIC saw it in the camera view. If he did, he should have stopped his drone immediately and turned the camera toward the helicopter instead of continuing on and following the race car. I would have stopped , followed the heli and just waited for it to pass. That's if I saw it in the camera's view.

 

[BigAl07]

Ground spotters WITH RADIOS would have prevented this easily. BUT NO, the FAA won't let spotters use radios to communicate with the UAV PIC.

Also, the UAV video saw the helicopter close by, I just don't know if the UAV PIC saw it in the camera view. If he did, he should have stopped his drone immediately and turned the camera toward the helicopter instead of continuing on and following the race car. I would have stopped , followed the heli and just waited for it to pass. That's if I saw it in the camera's view.

What? That aircraft was WAY beyond VLOS and this is a Text Book example of why we can't fly BVLOS safely. If you watch the video the helicopter was in frame turning back towards the action (aka truck and UAS) but the UAS operator was so fixated on keeping the truck in frame he/she lost ALL Situational Awareness. 100% UAS Operator Failure!!

Wasn't this filmed in Mexico? Ah I see this is a NEW one not the one I read about in Mexico. This was done in San Bernardino, California.

 

[mobilehomer]

Ground spotters WITH RADIOS would have prevented this easily. BUT NO, the FAA won't let spotters use radios to communicate with the UAV PIC.

Yes, you can with a waiver. From the waiver list -

Use a visual observer without following all visual observer requirements

§ 107.33 – Visual Observer

 

[zeusfl]

WOW !!!

 

[Ty Pilot]

Ground spotters WITH RADIOS would have prevented this easily. BUT NO, the FAA won't let spotters use radios to communicate with the UAV PIC.

Also, the UAV video saw the helicopter close by, I just don't know if the UAV PIC saw it in the camera view. If he did, he should have stopped his drone immediately and turned the camera toward the helicopter instead of continuing on and following the race car. I would have stopped , followed the heli and just waited for it to pass. That's if I saw it in the camera's view.

But he didn't, and that is the point. There is no way around it. The UAV PIC lost all situational awareness and that one-in-a-billion, improbable wreck that all BVLOS supporters say will NEVER happen; did - just that - again.

That aircraft was WAY beyond VLOS and this is a Text Book example of why we can't fly BVLOS safely.

I agree 100%.

 

[BigAl07]

But he didn't, and that is the point. There is no way around it. The UAV PIC lost all situational awareness and that one-in-a-billion, improbable wreck that all BVLOS supporters say will NEVER happen; did - just that - again.



I agree 100%.

Also the UAS operator wasn't even flying in the "Indicated area" that the organizers had allocated for him.
"According to a map provided by race organizers, the intended position of the RPIC was about 2,300 feet from where the collision occurred. Both the RPIC and the helicopter pilot provided maps indicating the RPIC was about 1,000 feet west, closer to the collision point."

Even at 1,300' I have my doubts the operator was even looking in that direction and most likely flying BLINDLY watching his viewing device and oblivious to the sight (it was on screen) and sound of the helicopter. 100% loss of Situational Awareness as he was most likely totally transfixed on keeping the truck "in frame" which is a FAILURE TO MAINTAIN by the UAS operator.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The 2 aircraft HAD good separation at the start of the clip.
I think the heli pilot dropped and banked lower to get down along that landform (ridge) for a good shot I think.

In any case, even if they had a good separation rule for the event, the accident is on the drone pilot.
This is typical of how little situational awareness there is from a camera view.

The article does cite planning failures, seems like the UAV part might have been a last minute thing, with no RPIC at meetings with other crew.

A few scratches on the windscreen, quite lucky really for both parties and organisers.

 

[BigAl07]

The 2 aircraft HAD good separation at the start of the clip.
I think the heli pilot dropped and banked lower to get down along that landform (ridge) for a good shot I think.

In any case, even if they had a good separation rule for the event, the accident is on the drone pilot.
This is typical of how little situational awareness there is from a camera view.

The article does cite planning failures, seems like the UAV part might have been a last minute thing, with no RPIC at meetings with other crew.

A few scratches on the windscreen, quite lucky really for both parties and organisers.

I do agree that there are many aspects of this that scream FAIL from management, to the Helicopter Pilot, to the reckless UAS operator.

If the UAS operator wasn't part of ALL the Safety and Planning meetings he should not have been flying.

This is a classic example of how small errors can lead to a LARGE Uh-Oh! Ultimately it falls on the UAS operator and I would imagine he has had his fair share of "Educational Moments" since this incident.

 

[GFields]

Thanks for sharring!