Watch out for US Coast Guard helicopters flying below 500 feet without warning

[Dangerly]

I just shot this from my backyard just now and it's a US Coast Guard helicopter flying not on the coast, low enough and fast enough that if I were flying my drone legally, this could well be a problem. If I happened to be flying my drone when this came around, I might well do a CSC emergency shut off and lose my drone. A few years back I was flying my drone on the coast when a Coast Guard helicopter came out of nowhere right towards my drone and freaked me out and I think it was a close call.

I'm putting this out there because:

1. I want other pilots to know about this potential hazard.
2. USCG often flies without ADSB, low, and fast, so you won't get much warning.
3. I am maybe 30 miles from the coast and would not expect Coast Guard to fly this low this far from the coast. They are the Coast Guard after all.
4. If you were flying your drone and saw this coming at your drone without much warning, what would you do?
5. To whom would you report this, if your drone was in the air near this? The FAA doesn't cover Coast Guard, from what I understand.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If you fly a Go4 or Fly drone and the emergency motor stop option set to the default, breakdown/emergency-only, a CSC will not stop the drone's motors unless the drone itself thinks it has suffered an emergency.
IMO the alternative option acts too quickly to be safe for none troubled flights, you are left with the default option and remembering to switch to the alternative by which time the emergency you were trying to avoid has probably happened.

 

[Starz]

Hard left or right stick would be my choice.

 

[Starz]

pilot of the aircraft’s responsibility to avoid your drone

Assuming the pilot sees it.
Many of these flying cameras are somewhat small.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I think you’re making some incorrect assumptions. It’s the pilot of the aircraft’s responsibility to avoid your drone — assuming you are flying legally.
Are you sure it was below 500 ft? Hard to tell from the photo but this does not look like 500ft altitude.
Are you sure it was within a dangerous radius?

I think you would find that at ALL times it is the legal responsibility of the drone pilot to get their drone out of the way of a manned aircraft i.e. the manned aircraft ALWAYS has right of way and the onus is on the drone pilot to take the necessary action to avoid a collision.
I do not doubt that the pilot of the manned aircraft also has a responsibility to take action to avoid a collision if they can but I would suggest that the chances of the pilot of a manned aircraft spottting a done in time to take action are slim.
If a collision happens it is always going to be the drone pilot's fault even if the manned aircraft is flying illegally.

 

[Ronson]

In my area it’s military helicopters and they have no regard for anything but themselves and very much below 400 feet.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

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[Ralph thompson]

In my experience you hear these equipment before you see them. In the parts of Quebec and Ontario where I operate drones, we get float planes close to the ground near lakes, ultralights, small planes using grass strips and private helicopters often below 500'. If your operating LOS and your listening, you can easily lower yr altitude and/or make a quick return home.

 

[dart106]

Assuming the pilot sees it.
Many of these flying cameras are somewhat small.

Agree. A drone, especially one of the “Minis” would be near impossible to see from a moving helicopter of fixed wing aircraft even if they knew where to look. Then, if the drone had no strobes, that would make it even more difficult to spot. Think about how hard it is to see that Mini (or whatever you’re flying) when it gets several hundred feet away from you. For comparison, imagine what it would be like from a fast moving aircraft with the background moving continually.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

think you’re making some incorrect assumptions. It’s the pilot of the aircraft’s responsibility to avoid your drone — assuming you are flying legally

It's ALWAYS the responsibility of the drone operator to avoid collision with manned aircraft....ALWAYS, no exceptions.

 

[AlanL]

I see them flying low and fast along the Oregon coast frequently and they are well under 500' above the water. I have never received an ADS-B warning and with the sounds of the pounding surf during the winter months you don't hear them coming either. My usual reaction is to go full throttle towards the shoreline.

 

[Aairon]

In my area it’s military helicopters and they have no regard for anything but themselves and very much below 400 feet.

Same here in the south Puget sound area Choppers from JBLM constantly break below 300 feet and are not always transmitting ADS-B info.
It will take a collision for anything to get done and blaming a drone pilot will be a convenience but it won't bring dead folks back to life!!!!

 

[bmwbob]

I was out flying a while back and controller started screaming at me aircraft near and turned out to be a glider!

 

[Aairon]

It's ALWAYS the responsibility of the drone operator to avoid collision with manned aircraft....ALWAYS, no exceptions.

The LAW won't resurrect a dead pilot or passenger!! Maybe Jesus lol.
Knowing what I now know about Drones I would be terrified to fly in anything over a residential area below 1000 feet!!

 

[Aairon]

I was out flying a while back and controller started screaming at me aircraft near and turned out to be a glider!

Ummm A glider is an airplane.....

 

[bmwbob]

Ummm A glider is an airplane.....

Duh! Couldn't hear it! It was obscured by overcast sky a couple hundred feet above drone. It was interesting the the alert increases as plane gets nearer to drone.

 

[Flying Shroppie]

I live in an area that is used on an almost daily basis for military helicopter pilot training. It is outside the "no fly" zone associated with the RAF base. However this does not stop the pilots from flying below 150 ft. How do I know the height? Because the pilots use a wind turbine approx 200 mts from my house as a marker and when the turbine was being erected I was able to accurately measure the height.
I am afraid to complain as I suspect they will extend the zone further from the base and that will restrict my flying from my house completely.
At the moment they tend not to do any training at weekends so that's when I can get out.
A Chinook at 100ft is a very noisy experience they rattle the roof on my conservatory.

 

[Ralph thompson]

there’s an old saying amongst pilots that could well apply to drone operators. « Good pilots never need their skills to get out of a dangerous situation » and that’s because they’re experienced enough to not get in difficult situations.

 

[Dangerly]

Are you sure it was below 500 ft? Hard to tell from the photo but this does not look like 500ft altitude.
Are you sure it was within a dangerous radius?

As soon as I heard the Coast Guard helicopter I turned on Flightradar24 and saw the realtime altitude - it was measuring in the 500's and ascending. This was the first time I've seen a Coast Guard bird broadcasting ADSB - usually they do not show up on Flightradar24.

As far as being in a dangerous radius, the helicopter flew very close to where I've flown hyperlapses in the past. I would not expect they could see a small drone and I might have dropped my drone with a CSC if I'd been flying there at the time.

 

[Dangerly]

there’s an old saying amongst pilots that could well apply to drone operators. « Good pilots never need their skills to get out of a dangerous situation » and that’s because they’re experienced enough to not get in difficult situations.

True, and then sometimes dangerous situations find you. Like a few years back when I was flying in unrestricted airspace over the ocean at a totally different location and another Coast Guard helicopter came in low and fast from over a hill. So close I could clearly see the people in the helicopter looking at me. I did not hear it until it was right on me and at the time I didn't know about CSC. I don't think there was any way I could have avoided that difficult situation.