So, if I killed somebody..

[Pedro]

Obviously this will very much depend upon the country and its laws but as a principle, I believe that I am correct in thinking that if I killed somebody with my car, that had been maintained correctly and has the required test certificate (e.g. MOT in the UK), by way of a unforeseen mechanical failure, e.g. tyre blow out, I would not be held responsible for that person's death. It would be classed as an accident.

What would the situation be with a drone should an unforeseen mechanical failure occur?

Obviously there is no means of independently verifying the condition of the drone prior to the failure.

 

[QuadKid]

I believe a detailed script of the flight log and .dat file will come into evidence, none the less here in the USA a person killed would receive nation wide negative media coverage and further creating "Drone Panic" here.

 

[deltalimatango]

I'm third party insured for things just like this.

 

[QuadKid]

Same here $1mil liability aviation policy, Part 107 certified as it is required for me to do commercial work. Still hope to never go through the hassle of even injuring someone let alone killing or causing an accident that resulted in a death. Fly Smart / Fly Safe.

 

[westonmavicpilot]

I believe it would come down to whether you had done as much as reasonably practicable to ensure the third parties safety. The most recent CAA air navigation order lays out a massive list of do's and don'ts which drone pilots have to follow to stay legal. Two of the most pertinent to your question are 1. stay 150 meters away from congested areas and 2. not fly within 50 meters of another person (unless they are your spotter). So for instance if something goes wrong and causes the Mavic to fall into a crowd of people you probably dont have a leg to stand on, however if you're standing in an empty field or beach with no one around when you take off but then someone walks within 50m of you and gets struck by a falling Mavic I think it could be argued that you took reasonable care. It could just come down to public opinion at the time, what mood the judge got out of bed in that morning, etc etc.

I fly with BMFA public liability insurance as I don't fancy losing my house etc etc if I was unfortunate enough to kill someone and get sued but I do wonder if I even slightly contravened one of the regulations whether that insurance would be declared void by the insurer.... could well be! In reality the odds of a Mavic causing death by striking someone due to mechanical failure are pretty low but theres always pilot error and the dreaded bird strike to take into account as well!

Check this out....

http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/1226.pdf

 

[Pedro]

Thanks.

I have PL insurance specific to flying my drones so it's not really that aspect interests me, it's the criminal aspect that would concern me more especially with the very real negativity towards our hobby (or job) at the moment but I suppose the law is the law and public perception or emotion shouldn't enter into the end result..