My Mavic Was Shot Out of the Sky

Kestrel · May 25, 2017

As others call the police department, file charges and possibly sue to get another mavic.

Cyberpower678 · May 25, 2017

You have a case to file a lawsuit for damages and be reimbursed the cost of a drone Plus legal expenses.

bleedgr33n · May 25, 2017

Cyberpower678 said:
You have a case to file a lawsuit for damages and be reimbursed the cost of a drone Plus legal expenses.

Can I replace it with an Inspire 2?

Also, I don't know how much money this guy has, which could be a problem.

erkme73 · May 25, 2017

Can't wait to see the logs and the analysis of the DAT files by the experts here. I'm especially intrigued by the fact that it landed on his property. Were you over his property when he took the shot, or did it just fall in that direction after getting struck by the projectiles? I don't think it'll matter either way (legally) unless you were loitering over his property.

Egika · May 25, 2017

bleedgr33n said:
Can I replace it with an Inspire 2?

Also, I don't know how much money this guy has, which could be a problem.

Obviously enough money to afford a gun...

bleedgr33n · May 25, 2017

erkme73 said:
Can't wait to see the logs and the analysis of the DAT files by the experts here. I'm especially intrigued by the fact that it landed on his property. Were you over his property when he took the shot, or did it just fall in that direction after getting struck by the projectiles? I don't think it'll matter either way (legally) unless you were loitering over his property.

Total flight time from the time I started the props until he removed the battery was less than 6 minutes. I was filming his property, and I did flyover his property, but neither are against the law. I was not over his property when he fired the shots, no. However it did fall in that direction, unfortunately. Honestly, I was shocked he walked it out to me immediately after he shot it down.

bleedgr33n · May 25, 2017

Egika said:
Obviously enough money to afford a gun...

It was an air rifle, so while it's not cheap, it's also not overly expensive.

GlenT · May 25, 2017

You can bet your bottom dollar the shooter will state you were harassing him and constantly flying over his house etc etc to try and mitigate his offending.
So be prepared for the police to come back with something along those lines. Hopefully they will see straight through it if he does this.
Of course this doesn't absolve him of his crimes.
Fortunately you have logs and video.

bleedgr33n · May 25, 2017

GlenT said:
You can bet your bottom dollar the shooter will state you were harassing him and constantly flying over his house etc etc to try and mitigate his offending.
So be prepared for the police to come back with something along those lines. Hopefully they will see straight through it if he does this.
Of course this doesn't absolve him of his crimes.
Fortunately you have logs and video.

Like I said earlier, the flight was less than 6 minutes total. And regardless of whether or not he was feeling harassed, legally I wasn't harassing him. Maybe I was annoying him. Annoying people isn't illegal and he has no right to not be annoyed. Furthermore, the sheriffs deputy that paid me a visit watched the video from start to finish and made no comment as to my wrongdoing.

erkme73 · May 25, 2017

bleedgr33n said:
It was an air rifle, so while it's not cheap, it's also not overly expensive.

And unregulated.

bleedgr33n said:
Total flight time from the time I started the props until he removed the battery was less than 6 minutes. I was filming his property, and I did flyover his property, but neither are against the law. I was not over his property when he fired the shots, no. However it did fall in that direction, unfortunately. Honestly, I was shocked he walked it out to me immediately after he shot it down.

Not a lawyer, and until you speak with one, I would say don't take anything anyone here says as fact... But - even if you were harassing him (whether on this or prior flights) - I don't think he would have any legal justification for firing a projectile at an aircraft.

Given that you have the video and your logs, I think this has a very real potential of becoming a (inter)national news story - be prepared for interview requests. I would strongly suggest that you start looking for an attorney who is experienced in aviation law. There are a number who would probably do this pro-bono given the potential publicity for their firm.

I would NOT post the video publicly until you've spoken with an attorney. And as much as I'd like to see it, and hear the nitty-gritty details in the coming days/weeks, be very careful with what comments and statements you make on-line and to the press.

Good luck!!

Cyberpower678 · May 25, 2017

Actually, for some reason I'm not seeing the flight path of your flight, but I see three motors stalling mid-flight.

EDIT: I see motor values in there, but nothing else. I can't load much of the file. I do see three motors stalling mid-flight with the left front still spinning.

GlenT · May 25, 2017

erkme73 said:
But - even if you were harassing him (whether on this or prior flights) - I don't think he would have any legal justification for firing a projectile at an aircraft.
I would NOT post the video publicly until you've spoken with an attorney.

Wise words.

WIMMPYIII · May 25, 2017

I can not wait to see how this turns out.

Lapeer20m · May 25, 2017

Not that shooting your mavic was the appropriate response, but flying over people's houses/property at 100' in tripod mode is not very neighborly on your part.

rydfree · May 25, 2017

Some things to consider : Shooting down a drone is illegal and wrong . We will get that out of the way but is there a chance he can turn this around on you ? 100' AGL is not high considering law states a property owner has airspace rights 83' over the tallest structure on the property . Did you have the Mavic in VLOS the whole time ?

When flying over someone elses property I would fly a lot higher than 100' given the disdain for flying cameras and public opinion of them .

flyNfrank · May 25, 2017

Cyberpower678 said:
I don't have them means to right now due to lack of power, but @Robbyg @msinger @BudWalker can do it just as good, if not better, as I can.

I would have...but since I'm not on the list I'll watch from the sidelines.

flyNfrank · May 25, 2017

Btw, the FAA claims shooting drones will be treated the same as any other aircraft. Big fines are coming.

E92Vancouver · May 25, 2017

bleedgr33n said:
UPDATE! Local sheriff just left my house. He viewed the video, took a copy, and he will be seeking malicious mischief and reckless endangerment charges. I was approximately 100ft AGL when he landed the first shot, iirc. My bother was also with me and is being treated as a witness. I will be contacting the local FAA office in the morning and seeking guidance on how to proceed.

This house has been a huge problem in my area for some time now. I sincerely hope there can be some prosecution happening. He fired multiple projectiles which is dangerous in and of itself, but also caused a risk of my Mavic coming down on nearby power lines, a road, or even people. Also, I don't know what condition the internals are in so I do not know if I should trust it to fly. So I'm currently out of a drone....

Anyway, I will not lose the video. It has been copied a few times already just in case. I will upload and share it soon, likely tomorrow after my chat with the FAA.

Upload the video and post here for back up.

E92Vancouver · May 25, 2017

bleedgr33n said:
As the title says, someone shot down my Mavic. I was about 30ft away. It crashed onto their property, and after the walked it out to me. I immediately checked out the video and sure enough it appears he took it out with an air rifle (two props).

What should I do now? I've called local LE and am currently waiting a return call. I've contacted the FAA but their office is closed for the day. Will call again tomorrow.

What I need is assistance getting my flight log off my phone and also if it can be proven the reason it crashed was rotor speed suddenly having a problem.

Shooting a drone out of the sky turns it into a rock that can kill someone. He is in big doo doo. Pursue this to the fullest extent of the law. Let me know if you want me to email you money towards a lawyer so you can sue for damages and mental anguish. .

flyNfrank · May 25, 2017

bleedgr33n said:
Here is the link for the dropbox download of the DAT file. I'm pretty sure it's the correct one.

Dropbox - 2017-05-25_14-06-14_FLY109.DAT

How do you analyze this?

This is the wrong .DAT file. The file needed will be LARGE.... such as say 390MB. If you see say 5 files with the same date, you need the largest in file size from that date. Btw, it appears you are in the wrong folder.