DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Oregon man charged with shooting down power company drone

@Rip

Well-Known Member
Premium Pilot
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Messages
138
Reactions
157
Age
67
Location
Oregon
Site
westcoastdrones.net
631135ae8792e.image.jpg

An Oregon Coast newspaper first reported last week on the downing of the unmanned aerial vehicle being used by a contractor for Consumers Power, Inc., to inspect its transmission lines. The drone started a fire when it crashed, which the contractor was able to quickly extinguish. The power company notified area customers of the planned drone surveys a week or more prior.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in a County Circuit Court Wednesday, the contractor was surveying a power pole on Aug. 23, when he heard three pops. The drone operator, who was wearing a high-visibility vest and hard hat, attempted to land the craft, but it malfunctioned and its battery caught fire several feet above the ground. The contractor reported the downing of the $25,000 drone, which was a total loss, to the County Sheriff’s Office.

The affidavit said photos of the house were recovered from the drone that showed a man standing at an open window holding a rifle or a pellet gun, which the contractor showed to the deputy investigating the incident. The deputy compared the image to the suspect’s driver’s license photo and determined they resembled each other.

The drone pilot said when he and a colleague, who was in a marked company truck nearby at the time of the crash, were putting out the drone fire, a man approached them and asked what happened, according to the affidavit. The pilot told him someone interfered with the drone in flight — that he’d inspected thousands of power poles and nothing like this had ever happened before.

“(The pilot) told me the man asked if he was with the power company,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit. “(The pilot) told me he said yes” and that “upon hearing this, the man abruptly said he had to go, and drove away in a white vehicle.”

The pilot found two presume bullet holes in the drone, one in the frame below the battery and one in the battery itself. A drone’s lithium ion battery can catch fire when punctured.

The pilot also told the deputy he had a lot of experience with firearms, and the shots he heard sounded like they came from a rifle with a suppressor.

The deputy visited the persons address Aug. 29, where he saw a "white vehicle" parked, and told him he was there to speak to him about the drone. The person said he knew the craft crashed and caught fire, and that he would not speak to the deputy about it without his attorney present.

The deputy told the suspect he was under arrest and that shooting down a drone was a felony in Oregon.

“(the suspect) said something similar to ‘Even on my own property?’” the affidavit reads. The deputy said the power company, and thus its contractor, had an easement and thus right to access to a pole on his property.

He was booked into Lincoln County Jail on a Class C felony count of criminal mischief and violation of Oregon Revised Statute 837.995. The charging document filed by the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office Wednesday includes only the first count.

Shooting down a drone is also a federal crime, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but the agency has historically left enforcement to states.

The suspect was granted release on the condition he not contact the victim, and his arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 12.

Edited By OP to adhere to forum Rule 13
 
Last edited:
Here's a link to the actual article if you want to follow it and hopefully see the updates:

 
Good article, thank you. Is there a time to establish a UAV operator's code of legal right for UAV work in the community? Is this a time to look at a bit of at gun control? scares the animals. Just saying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ANGUSBULL
Alright gang..... let's not forget the Forum Guidelines here....

7. Posts containing rude, explicit, obscene or vulgar language or abbreviations, images or links to websites with adult content/images or special characters designed to "trick" our obscenity filter may be removed.
 
Shoot first, ask questions later, eh? Punishment should include restitution.

Really have to question the choice to lead the story with the suspect's political affiliation. It's completely irrelevant and "Oregon man" would have sufficed.
 
Really have to question the choice to lead the story with the suspect's political affiliation. It's completely irrelevant and "Oregon man" would have sufficed.
i didn’t question his political choice when I first read the article
I ignored that. Don’t care what he is he’s still a fool .
And with that let’s not go any further with that. Just see
…..Oregon Man…… 👍👍
 
  • Like
Reactions: bricman12
The reason the political affiliation popped up probably was because he was the county chairman, you'd think he'd know a little better, not to mention the parties general stance on firearms in the first place.. That's just my 2 cents, probably doesn't need any more comment, but it will be interesting to see if he gets fined, has to pay anything for compensation..or any other penalty for destroying a $25K drone for no good reason... it should have been really obvious what it was doing there..
 
Shoot first, ask questions later, eh? Punishment should include restitution.

Really have to question the choice to lead the story with the suspect's political affiliation. It's completely irrelevant and "Oregon man" would have sufficed.


That's not his "Political Affiliation" as much as it's his Position/Title. Just as much as City Fire Chief etc. Can't blame a media source for doing whatever they can to entice "reader involvement".
 
I feel it is probably just wishful thinking that this news story would gain some national attention. Hopefully giving a warning to all that shooting down a drone under any circumstances is is a crime and punishable. Maybe if this guy pays a significant consequence for his actions, it will shine some light on this issue.
 
He shot down an aircraft in flight, which could have had dire consequences, what if the fire it started had gotten out of control, I don't think jail time should be out of the question!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Len750 and R.Cowan
He should and being they had gave Prior notice they we’re going to be there makes me think he ways laying there waiting for them.
But saying they had pictures of him (The affidavit said photos of the house were recovered from the drone that showed a man standing at an open window holding a rifle or a pellet gun.)
and they were there taking pictures of power poles make me wonder about the whole story. Now I think about it 🤔
Just what they were looking at. Who knows. I wasn’t there.
With a 25k drone you would think they wouldn’t be looking in windows. .
 
I think if the drone was aiming at the power lines being inspected and the house was in the path of the shot, they could have easily captured him in the shot while doing the job they were there for.. Without actually being on the scene and see how this actually lays out, we are of course just guessing.
 
I think if the drone was aiming at the power lines being inspected and the house was in the path of the shot, they could have easily captured him in the shot while doing the job they were there for.. Without actually being on the scene and see how this actually lays out, we are of course just guessing.
I was going to send a similar reply to Dirkclod,s post...but of course none of really know.
 
View attachment 154623

An Oregon Coast newspaper first reported last week on the downing of the unmanned aerial vehicle being used by a contractor for Consumers Power, Inc., to inspect its transmission lines. The drone started a fire when it crashed, which the contractor was able to quickly extinguish. The power company notified area customers of the planned drone surveys a week or more prior.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in a County Circuit Court Wednesday, the contractor was surveying a power pole on Aug. 23, when he heard three pops. The drone operator, who was wearing a high-visibility vest and hard hat, attempted to land the craft, but it malfunctioned and its battery caught fire several feet above the ground. The contractor reported the downing of the $25,000 drone, which was a total loss, to the County Sheriff’s Office.

The affidavit said photos of the house were recovered from the drone that showed a man standing at an open window holding a rifle or a pellet gun, which the contractor showed to the deputy investigating the incident. The deputy compared the image to the suspect’s driver’s license photo and determined they resembled each other.

The drone pilot said when he and a colleague, who was in a marked company truck nearby at the time of the crash, were putting out the drone fire, a man approached them and asked what happened, according to the affidavit. The pilot told him someone interfered with the drone in flight — that he’d inspected thousands of power poles and nothing like this had ever happened before.

“(The pilot) told me the man asked if he was with the power company,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit. “(The pilot) told me he said yes” and that “upon hearing this, the man abruptly said he had to go, and drove away in a white vehicle.”

The pilot found two presume bullet holes in the drone, one in the frame below the battery and one in the battery itself. A drone’s lithium ion battery can catch fire when punctured.

The pilot also told the deputy he had a lot of experience with firearms, and the shots he heard sounded like they came from a rifle with a suppressor.

The deputy visited the persons address Aug. 29, where he saw a "white vehicle" parked, and told him he was there to speak to him about the drone. The person said he knew the craft crashed and caught fire, and that he would not speak to the deputy about it without his attorney present.

The deputy told the suspect he was under arrest and that shooting down a drone was a felony in Oregon.

“(the suspect) said something similar to ‘Even on my own property?’” the affidavit reads. The deputy said the power company, and thus its contractor, had an easement and thus right to access to a pole on his property.

He was booked into Lincoln County Jail on a Class C felony count of criminal mischief and violation of Oregon Revised Statute 837.995. The charging document filed by the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office Wednesday includes only the first count.

Shooting down a drone is also a federal crime, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but the agency has historically left enforcement to states.

The suspect was granted release on the condition he not contact the victim, and his arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 12.

Edited By OP to adhere to forum Rule 13
Seems like he would be charged with several felonies. Probably has a record and is a hot head. I hope he has to at least pay for a new Matrice. My son is employed by and flies a Matrice for a local pwr co. here in Jax, Fl.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScottTX and R.Cowan
He should and being they had gave Prior notice they we’re going to be there makes me think he ways laying there waiting for them.
But saying they had pictures of him (The affidavit said photos of the house were recovered from the drone that showed a man standing at an open window holding a rifle or a pellet gun.)
and they were there taking pictures of power poles make me wonder about the whole story. Now I think about it 🤔
Just what they were looking at. Who knows. I wasn’t there.
With a 25k drone you would think they wouldn’t be looking in windows. .
Possibly Background of the pwr line image looking from above before the Matrice was downed. YES/NO?
 
Possibly Background of the pwr line image looking from above before the Matrice was downed. YES/NO?
Very likely. Inspecting a power line generally requires several pictures at different angles of the structure(s) [equipment] and the line itself. It was very possible they were able to enlarge an image where it might have shown the perpetrator.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R.Cowan
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,599
Messages
1,554,247
Members
159,603
Latest member
refrigasketscanada