Unfortunate News Article

[Corsair415]

I refer pilots to this FAA chart:

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D

A lot more accurate than many people are willing to admit. In regards to a lot of things. Love seeing people post pictures of house cats thinking it’s a mountain lion.

 

[MikeBuck]

Here’s an unfortunate event and article that made the “front page” of the news online:

Rhode Island pilot describes moment a drone nearly struck his small plane

A Quonset State Airport-based private pilot says he experienced a mid-air scare with a drone on Monday night. "It was literally 20 to 50 feet right above my head -- right there," Bill Weedon told NBC 10 News. "Didn't have time to be scared. Just reacted. "According to Weedon, it happened while...

turnto10.com

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Hard to say if this is legit or not! The local RI news outlets have a habit of stretching the information to capture the click bait.
At one time that station was very good, but it has been bought and sold a few times, and its standing is diminshed. Maybe someone local can add some details?

 

[Super Dave O]

I hate airheads like these that make the FAA tighten its grip on this hobby. I know some of these fines seem harsh, but when you really look at it, it's really just what they deserve. Maybe something like a stop that forces purchasers of drones to watch an instructional video before taking off would be helpful. However, those of us that actually know the rules and follow them would also be affected but I mean, it's better than the hobby rules becoming more stringent than they already are.

Most of these guys are full of S*^T. Making up stories to get their 10 minutes

 

[bhartwell]

Did you watch his video. The man was over reacting to something he thinks he saw. No proof at all.
I'm done. Have your way. All pilots that report drones know for sure what they saw according to you.

Keep in mind, pilots report UFOs all the time, doesn't mean they are actually there. There is a lot of hysteria, exaggeration, out of context or simply wrong information out there. Is it possible someone flew a drone up to 3000' and came close to a small aircraft, certainly. Is it likely, not really, lots of things would have to have lined up just right for that to happen. Is it a common occurrence or a material risk that airplanes are going to start hitting drones on a regular basis or that the risk of this is unreasonably high, not likely.