N017RW
Premium Pilot
What May Be U.S.’s First Drone-Linked Aircraft Crash Is Being Investigated
- Thread starter BigAl07
- Start date
The Phantom series is the single more recognized series of sUAS on the planet. If you quickly flashed a picture of an "white object in the air" in front of 1,000 people I'd bet more than 900 would either name it as a Phantom or pick a Phantom out in a "Line Up" as being the aircraft.
No sUAS or operator have been identified at least as of last night. It's important to note that DJI is offering to assist to the best of their ability and we all know DJI is gathering more flight DATA per flight than we think/assume. If it was a Phantom AND the operator synched his flight with DJI servers I could easily see a way DJI can pinpoint the operator and location in a matter of mere seconds.
@N017RW
I don't remember the source but I do recall seeing the stats last year on UFO (not the spaceship kind LOL) reportings have gone down to almost nothing while "DRONE" sightings have gone through the roof. The "Shopping Bag" that was misidentified as a sUAS in the UK (I think it was there) is a classic example.
Society now calls just about anything flying in the air that can't be identified (which is the very definition of UFO) a Drone. So it makes sense why Drone reports have gone up while UFO reports have drastically decreased.
Of course some of these are probably genuinely sUAS citings but John Q. Public has been trained to call them all DRONES plus if they say they saw a DRONE it gives them some degree of "attention" because DRONE is such a hot BUZZ word right now.
The chart below pretty well sums it up best:
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You hit the nail on the head with what I said earlier [emoji4]@N017RW
I don't remember the source but I do recall seeing the stats last year on UFO (not the spaceship kind LOL) reportings have gone down to almost nothing while "DRONE" sightings have gone through the roof. The "Shopping Bag" that was misidentified as a sUAS in the UK (I think it was there) is a classic example.
Society now calls just about anything flying in the air that can't be identified (which is the very definition of UFO) a Drone. So it makes sense why Drone reports have gone up while UFO reports have drastically decreased.
Of course some of these are probably genuinely sUAS citings but John Q. Public has been trained to call them all DRONES plus if they say they saw a DRONE it gives them some degree of "attention" because DRONE is such a hot BUZZ word right now.
The chart below pretty well sums it up best:
A helicopter pilot instructor training a student at treetop level? Any Aircraft flight instructors here? To me, that doesn't add up and sound a little fishy. How about my fish tale, there was no drone, the pilot was doing something illegal, and hit a tree. To save him from prosecution he blamed a "mysterious drone"
Hmmmm...."news to be proven" Well, I didn't see it in the headlines or on television news. Surely, THEY would cover such an inflammatory topic. Yet, this garbage shows up here. And, I'm being as civil as I can about such an irresponsible post.
Where I fly, low flying (just over the tree tops) ultralites, sea plans and helicopters are common. It heightens the need to have a clear VLOS of all airspace in the vicinity of your take-off point. This means you need to be far from any trees so that your LOS isn’t blocked by tall nearby trees.
My thoughts exactly. The pilot was able to see a "White DJI Phantom" Coming at them from a distance but couldn't see a tree right there at them. Sounds very fishy to me.
I totally agree with your comment, I am the chief UAV pilot for my fire department, there are many times when I am doing air operations over a fire scene or SAR mission when a police helo shows up coming in at 200 ft. or less. Even though my chiefs do like me yielding to them, I follow FAA regulations and put my bird on the ground and refuse to put it back in the air until that police asset is clear of my scene.
Keeping one hundred foot separation between aircraft is the law and the smart thing to do.
Excuse me? Irresponsible post? Please enlighten me how my post about a verified helo crash is irresponsible.
Listen, if you aren't interested in a post then move along. Don't feel like you must comment on it if you don't like it or don't agree with it. Keep in mind that your opinion is simply that.. yours.
This "could be" an industry changing event so I feel like it's worth some forum attention especially on a sUAS forum.
Maybe it's not made NATIONAL News (yet) but if you'll take but a moment of your precious time and research it yourself you'll see it is popping up in several places so far:
Please let me help you out there:
>>>> Let Me Google That For You <<<<
What? The post is totally relevant given the paranoia in some parts of the community over drones and the myriad of sins they purport to represent. If the outcome of this event is found (if indeed it ever happened) to reflect poorly on the drone community, you can look forward to even more punitive measures being introduced. I can guarantee that whatever happens in the US will make its way over here to the Land of the Convicts. It's already started with newly introduced DJI quiz and even more geo fencing controls, which of themselves are not a bad thing, but I suggest easily ramped up to reflect a confected outrage in the community each time there is an 'event' involving a flying camera.
captainmilehigh
Premium Pilot
For news to be proven, the NTSB has the incident on their website.
https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20180214X61821&key=1
Well, lying to the NTSB would be a federal offense. So let’s take it on face value there was a drone and the pilot responded in a manner resulting in a pilot induced crash. Why was the helo there at low altitude, why was a drone operating in the area if a helo was present? Once the crash occurred, who called the police? Surely if there was a drone operator, won’t they have called? Is the pilot certain it was a drone and not a bird? Did the police report note any birds in the area, or areas where drones could have been operated? Like any accident, there will be many unknowns. To say it’s “drone linked” however implies that’s factual. At this point all we know is the helo crashed due to the pilot flying it into a tree.
Fact or fiction; drone or no drone; this is akin to running my Harley into an oncoming car to avoid a squirrel.
True except placing the word "Squirrel" in a headline doesn't sell articles like it does with the word DRONE in the headlines. You could write an article and name it "Drone Poop" and it would get clicks galore just because DRONE is huge BUZZ word.
I agree 100% about the drone word added. That's the only reason some people look at this thread here. It may or may not be proven to be a drone. Until then, It sounds like a BS reason to have crashed a helicopter. Like I have said before, why wouldn't you practice fling like this near an small airport where your a lot safer and if you crash and need medical help it would probably be easier and quicker to get to you. And if the pilot and the trainee are lying about the drone and the authorities can prove it, I hope they are prosecuted for it.
We don't practice On/Near the airport for a lot of training procedures. While I'm not talking about specifically Rotorycraft as I'm only fixed wing licensed we intentionally get away from the hustle and congestion of the airport to practice everything except on-airport procedures. There are times when we would have to circle several times in order to get our place in line to practice a single approach to the runway on a busy day. Imagine the Charlie Foxtrot trying to shoot emergency procedures in a busy traffic pattern....
I live just outside Fort rucker alabama. Here the military owns the sky from the ground up they say and will at times fly very low. They call it training but what they really like to do is knock your pictures off the wall.
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