Man fined for flying drone that hit baby in the face

[Lake_Flyer]

I always say, your drone, your responsibility

Entirely right.

It always amazes me that a lot of amateur pilots do little to minimise the risks involved before flying.
Risk mitigation was the most important topic at my ground school and flight training.

 

[Bazzam]

It was just a matter of time before some idiot flying in the wrong place injured an innocent passer by

for perspective, here is a factual list of what parents should spend their time trying to mitigate the effects :

What causes pediatric injury?

 

[silverdragon]

Does anyone have compete details on what happened besides a drone piloted by a guy hits baby in the face. Was it truley a idiototic move or was it a truley an accident. To me theres a difference.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Was it truley a idiototic move or was it a truley an accident. To me theres a difference.

Of course there's a difference.

Flying a (consumer grade) drone that can go roque for all sorts of reasons, certainly in the hands of an untrained user, within a safe distance of people or playing children, without a proper prior assessment and mitigation of possible risks, is a stupid move. And the user/pilot is to blame. Whatever happened.

Crashing a professional drone, certified for airworthiness, by a trained professional pilot, after having mitigated every possible risk, and being able to prove that with a documented flight preparation, is considered an incident (up to minor injuries) or accident (major injuries or death) by aviation authorities.

 

[Marko9219]

This is easily a $10K settlement, of which the victims will receive about 50% minus actual litigation costs. If the baby needed more than initial care, that amount will double.

 

[Thwyllo]

Of course there's a difference.

Flying a (consumer grade) drone that can go roque for all sorts of reasons, certainly in the hands of an untrained user, within a safe distance of people or playing children, without a proper prior assessment and mitigation of possible risks, is a stupid move. And the user/pilot is to blame. Whatever happened.

Crashing a professional drone, certified for airworthiness, by a trained professional pilot, after having mitigated every possible risk, and being able to prove that with a documented flight preparation, is considered an incident (up to minor injuries) or accident (major injuries or death) by aviation authorities.

Do tell us what mainstream drone is currently "certified for airworthiness"?

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Do tell us what mainstream drone is currently "certified for airworthiness"?

Well, I'm not talking about part 107 or equivalent (I'm in the Netherlands where 107=ROCL) but the full operator certificate (ROC). An airworthiness certificate is given after thorough technical and flight test by an NLCAA accredited party (very expensive). They take apart your drone completely to the last little bolt and screw and document everything, take photos of everything during the process. Also they determine the COG with the payloads you specify (all payloads are subject to the process as well. After the certification you are not allowed to do any kind of maintenance yourself anymore, except replacing props or batteries. The exact specifications documented in the process are part of the Operational Manual you have to have with you with all flights. The certification costs at least 2000 Euro's (a lot more mostly)and is not possible on consumer grade drones. The Inspire1 and 2 are the very entry level. But most drones undergoing this process are well over 50.000 Euro or US$.

So, the only mainstream drone that can be certified (here) is the Inspire series.

In the US it is called
Special Airworthiness Certification
Certification for Civil Operated Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Optionally Piloted Aircraft (OPA)

 

[Thwyllo]

Well, I'm not talking about part 107 or equivalent (I'm in the Netherlands where 107=ROCL) but the full operator certificate (ROC). An airworthiness certificate is given after thorough technical and flight test by an NLCAA accredited party (very expensive). They take apart your drone completely to the last little bolt and screw and document everything, take photos of everything during the process. Also they determine the COG with the payloads you specify (all payloads are subject to the process as well. After the certification you are not allowed to do any kind of maintenance yourself anymore, except replacing props or batteries. The exact specifications documented in the process are part of the Operational Manual you have to have with you with all flights. The certification costs at least 2000 Euro's (a lot more mostly)and is not possible on consumer grade drones. The Inspire1 and 2 are the very entry level. But most drones undergoing this process are well over 50.000 Euro or US$.

So, the only mainstream drone that can be certified (here) is the Inspire series.

A CofA (which in Europe is slightly different to the US version) is a legal requirement for most aircraft to be able to fly - with exemptions for single seat aircraft or those under 300kgs. So for a drone, even a large one, it would be entirely voluntary. But since it isn't a legal requirement and doesn't confer any special properties on to the drone or its operator, it's frankly pointless unless, for example, it makes it easier to get insurance.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

A CofA (which in Europe is slightly different to the US version) is a legal requirement for most aircraft to be able to fly - with exemptions for single seat aircraft or those under 300kgs. So for a drone, even a large one, it would be entirely voluntary. But since it isn't a legal requirement and doesn't confer any special properties on to the drone or its operator, it's frankly pointless unless, for example, it makes it easier to get insurance.

Wrong, your talking about part 107 type of operation.
It is a legal requirement for drones that are used for ROC operations. With an ROC you can get an exemption (along with approved procedures written down in the OM) to fly closer to people, buildings, structures etc.

From FAA (but similar for CAA and NLCAA):

Except for small unmanned aircraft operating under 14 CFR part 107 or a part 107 waiver, a civil UAS cannot conduct air commerce in the National Airspace System unless there is an appropriate and valid airworthiness certificate issued for that UAS. U.S. registration is a prerequisite for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate.

 

[LoudThunder]

I feel sorry for the baby but even more for the pilot when it get hit hard with a lawsuit.

I don't expect his pockets are deep enough to even buy new propellers...

 

[LoudThunder]

I wouldn’t want to hound some 18 yo kid for life because of this little accident. That’s just me. I have kids, I would like to think that i would be understanding if this happened to my son. Kids are really resilient.

Lots of 18 yo kids make bad decisions.

I served in the armed forces for over 30-years and I commanded many 18-year olds armed with automatic weapons... I doubt there was any decision-makeing processes going on; simply a selfish action on his part, if he cannot be trusted to obey the easy laws, how will he be expected to obey the difficult laws?

 

[Skyryder]

I don't get all this talk about thousands of dollars and lawsuits with an 18 year old kid. Not saying what he did was right, but realistically, he has no money, maybe not even a car. If it's his drone, you can't sue his parents because he's an adult. Chances are very high he has no insurance for that kind of thing either.

Some have said still file and ruin him for life but that's not going to happen in a civil court. If he cant pay, he cant pay and ultimately once a decision is ordered, he can do what all people are allowed to do in that situation and go bankrupt. Even then, he's so young probably not a big deal as far as credit goes because he probably has none. Bankruptcy falls off after 10 years so at most he will have that on a credit report for that amount of time. That's about it.

 

[DoomMeister]

This thread is so old the lichens had to be chiseled off first.