May 25th 2018 Drone collides with helicopter over the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland

[BigAl07]

Thank goodness no one was hurt and no significant damage was done to the manned aircraft.

Full story in the link below . . .
https://dronedj.com/2018/05/26/drone-collides-with-helicopter-over-the-verzasca-dam-in-switzerland/

 

[EhmayWuntee]

Skimmed it, will try to revisit later, but dang it was roughly 1600ft up in the air, that seems crazy high and would also potentially have a whole nother level of wind speeds to fight. Probably wouldn’t be able to spot it in the air and i’d be curious to see if photos are even worthwhile at that height.

 

[John Decker]

Those are some drone-friendly laws!

 

[snownut]

In what world is this pilots reality based. Obviously not ours, there is no way to justify being that close to a manned aircraft period. The old I thought the helicopter pilot would see the drone does not hold water even for a second, its not the law for a manned aircraft pilot to avoid drones period. He'll be lucky if all he needs to do is buy new rotor blades for the helicopter.

 

[Russ43Phantom]

Where I live, sea planes and ultra-lites fly at the tree top level, well beneath the 400' ceiling. On weekends in good weather, it's not a good time to fly a drone. I'd be interested in what accountability a pilot of a sea plane or ultra-lite would have should there be an accident with a drone below 400' and within VLOS of the sUAS pilot.

 

[Graham2018]

Where I live, sea planes and ultra-lites fly at the tree top level, well beneath the 400' ceiling. On weekends in good weather, it's not a good time to fly a drone. I'd be interested in what accountability a pilot of a sea plane or ultra-lite would have should there be an accident with a drone below 400' and within VLOS of the sUAS pilot.

Hi Russ, I don't know if your 'Rules Of The Air' (Air Navigation Rules) are the same as here in England, but for all aircraft - Under Rule 5 of the ANO, amongst other things, they have to fly no lower than 1500 ft and more than 2000ft (?) away from any person, structure, vehicle. (there are more stipulations but these are the relevant ones). So in this country, the microlight and seaplanes would be breaking the law.

 

[BigAl07]

Where I live, sea planes and ultra-lites fly at the tree top level, well beneath the 400' ceiling. On weekends in good weather, it's not a good time to fly a drone. I'd be interested in what accountability a pilot of a sea plane or ultra-lite would have should there be an accident with a drone below 400' and within VLOS of the sUAS pilot.

Russ there are many exceptions to the "400' ceiling" (it's actually 500') and where you live it a plethora of exception (Seaplanes). Here are the FARS on this particular topic:

Sec. 91.119

Minimum safe altitudes: General.

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

(d) Helicopters, powered parachutes, and weight-shift-control aircraft. If the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface--

(1) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, provided each person operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA; and

(2) A powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section.]

Also Manned Aircraft ALWAYS have Right-Of-Way over sUAS. At the end of the day we are required to always See & Avoid and if a sUAS to Manned Aircraft conflict occurs, the odds of the manned aircraft being at fault are slim... not zero but very slim. See & Avoid is paramount to anything else we are doing when operating within the National Airspace System.

Hi Russ, I don't know if your 'Rules Of The Air' (Air Navigation Rules) are the same as here in England, but for all aircraft - Under Rule 5 of the ANO, amongst other things, they have to fly no lower than 1500 ft and more than 2000ft (?) away from any person, structure, vehicle. (there are more stipulations but these are the relevant ones). So in this country, the microlight and seaplanes would be breaking the law.

In the US they are most likely well within the FARS unless operating in a reckless/unsafe manner.

 

[FliteDoc]

We're getting drone and aircraft altitude reg's. conflated ... drone max 400', aircraft minimum 500' over unpopulated areas ...

 

[MikeyP]

I wonder how they found out who was piloting the drone. Do you suppose the drone pilot called the authorities and reported that a helicopter struck his drone? Was no blood on the prop all they needed to know to conclude that it was a drone? I always wonder why stories like these have so many factual omissions. Not that I'm a doubter ---