Pilot loses control of drone during Ohio State football game, records show

[Phantomrain.org]

So the guy was drunk and flew to far had no idea where his drone was.
I think there should be a Drunk Drone DUI put into place.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Caputre the Storm .

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

What has happened to the two cases that are or were before the US courts, Cincinnati Bears stadium being one, flight published on yt, I can't remember the other?

 

[thispilothere]

DJIs geozones don't cover TFR. The database would have to be updated every boot.

I get warned of the one at UK Kroger field when I launch on game day.

 

[mavic3usa]

You for sure can see these TFRs in Aloft even when you fly in uncontrolled airspace normally.

 

[mobilehomer]

You for sure can see these TFRs in Aloft even when you fly in uncontrolled airspace normally.

Aloft yes. I don't think the DJI Fly Recommended Zone does. I have checked during our local NFL games and nothing shows up.

 

[mobilehomer]

I think we should refer to it as a TFR or a temporary flight restriction. They don't last forever and drone flight in the covered area is restricted, no necessarily prohibited. To me, a No-Fly-Zone is over a military base or over POTUS as popular examples where there is no way a drone is ever allowed to fly there under any circumstances. Your DJI drone should stop you from flying in a NFZ but not necessarily in a TFR. These are my own personal definitions that help guide my own drone flying and ymmv and they may or may not line up with the law.

What this guy did, he flew in a TFR and because he flew over the field, the game was stopped. However, if he flew in the Best Buy parking lot just minutes after he came out of Best Buy and that store was located inside the TFR but still over a mile away from the stadium, technically he could have still been arrested and charged.

Today's video from PI has a very good report on this. New pilot who knows zero about UAS laws, He does now.

 

[LoudThunder]

Referencing my posting above Number 15…

The NFZ around Langley AFB was only 5-NM and it was in effect for three days. The Air Force Thunderbirds and other participating Aircraft were flying around the peninsula for a full day prior to familiarize themselves with the area…

Additionally, I imagine the relatively "small " NFZ was due to the location of other airfields… The Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is just under 8-NM Northwest from the base and the Chambers Field Naval Air Station is just 10-NM South…

 

[michaeldallen1]

3 miles? All the NFZs I've seen on game day only cover the stadium and parking lot.

Same here.

 

[Robert Prior]

The stadium is in a NFZ or TFR and was active. Even if it isn't doesn't negate my point that examples should be made to discourage this kind of behavior

Not excusing the behaviour, but wondering about it being a DJI drone. I fly with DJI controllers that are generally not linked to the internet, partly because my phone is old and slow and partly because the controllers insist on unlinking during startup and it's a pain, so I don't bother. I check for NOTAMs and the like on my phone (shoutout to the Drone Pilot Canada app!) but that information isn't on the controller. Before I bought the controllers I used an old tablet that also had no internet access.

Which is why I'm not convinced it wasn't a DJI drone. If the pilot last updated his no-fly database before the NFZ was created the system would let him fly there.

All of which points to the need for actual pilot training/testing, so that people are aware of their responsibilities.

And probably also training/responsibility for places that sell drones. I've listened to salesmen at Best Buy tell customers that the drone will prevent them from flying anywhere they aren't allowed to, which as we know isn't true but how does a new pilot know that?

 

[shb]

Guy who just bought drone and flies over Ohio State stadium during football game caught. He admitted he knows nothing about drone rules.

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[rgarjr]

Mehh, what douche. He was probably just showing off and thought it would be cool to go to the packed stadium.

 

[shb]

So the guy probably didn't know about setting the RTH altitude and other settings. Could be dangerous. Wonder how the police found him. Probably by just keeping their eyes on the drone.

 

[shb]

Why did they have to clear the field, when all the players were wearing helmets?

 

[Robert Prior]

Why did they have to clear the field, when all the players were wearing helmets?

Because the drone might have dropped a grenade?

(I wish I was joking, but that was a claim I saw in my daily emails from various American political figures*. I think it's an outlandish worry given all less-complicated ways of killing freely available, but I'm not a law-and-order politician looking to whip up hysteria.)

My guess would be the blades, if you're looking for a safety reason. Those can cause some pretty nasty lacerations.

*I'm not American, but an America with my name thinks that my gmail address is his and apparently uses it when asked for his email. So I get reminders that his car needs servicing, lots of emails from his favourite political party, the NRA, confirmations of Amazon orders, and so on.

 

[BigAl07]

Why did they have to clear the field, when all the players were wearing helmets?

It's ridiculous and more for attention than anything else. Sensationalism at it's finest.

 

[jephoto]

3 miles? All the NFZs I've seen on game day only cover the stadium and parking lot.

You need to read up on the laws. It’s always been a 3 mile radius from any major sporting or other event with 30,000 people or more

 

[lmh]

Since there was some discussion on what the TFR is here is the text of the standing NOTAM on the subject.

Pursuant to 14 CFR section 99.7, special security instructions, commencing one hour before the scheduled time of the event until one hour after the end of the event. All aircraft operations; including parachute jumping, unmanned aircraft and remote controlled aircraft, are prohibited within a 3NMR up to and including 3000ft AGL of any stadium having a seating capacity of 30,000 or more people where either a regular or post season Major League Baseball, National Football League, or NCAA division one football game is occurring. This NOTAM also applies to Nascar Sprint Cup, Indy Car, and Champ Series races excluding qualifying and pre-race events.

 

[Laggard]

I may be wrong, but I would think with the popularity of drones and as much that has been reported via news outlets that anyone who doesn't have their head buried in the sand would know better. Personally, I think it is a matter of not 'caring' what the rules are. I call it the "I bought this drone, and I'm going to do what I want to" syndrome. We see this mentality with other devices as well.

Amen. In a lot of forums even reminding people of what the rules are will get you called a boot licking Karen. I don’t even bother any more.

 

[mavic3usa]

Amen. In a lot of forums even reminding people of what the rules are will get you called a boot licking Karen. I don’t even bother any more.

I'm ok with TFR, I'm not ok with 3NM. Not my call but I believe it should be varied and certainly alot less than 3NM at least for drones. I'm also not a fan of the timing because for some reason, I'm seeing times alot longer than an hour before and an hour after which is certainly fine to cover the event but I'm not seeing it. I'm seeing all day TFRs but maybe I'm just not reading the equipment properly and probably should just read the official published TFR and go with that.

 

[EricJT]

This incident brings two items to mind:

First, this does not help the Anti-RID lobby, and second, you can't fix stupid, although a significant monetary punishment might influence future behaviour.