Are you missing a Phantom 2 in St. Louis?

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SOURCE: ST. LOUIS (KMOX)

The DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter equipped with an HD camera slammed into the Met Square building Monday. It was found on a 30th floor balcony by a security guard. St. Louis Police and the Federal Aviation Administration now want to know who it belongs to and why it was being flown downtown.
 
Something tells me there will be a P2 at this summer's police auction.

If they look at the recording, they will probably see who turned it on, where it was launched from, etc (just like the New York incident). Might not lead to the owner but they will have more information.

One more nail in the coffin of fair regulation of these things.
 
another flyaway?
is 30 floors more than 400ft?

and i love how they get the most ignorant of people to interview and they complain about spying.
With smartphones and cameras today, they are worried about a loud noised quad in the air? lol
 
dragonash said:
is 30 floors more than 400ft?

According to Wikipedia that building is 593 feet with 42 floors. Assuming equal heights for all floors that would put a 30th floor balcony at just over 400 ft. up. Looking at images of the building I'd say it's a safe bet the Phantom was flying higher and probably dropped down onto that deck after impacting higher up.
 
"St. Louis Police and the Federal Aviation Administration now want to know who it belongs to and why it was being flown downtown."

This is a bloody witch hunt. What laws or regulations were broken? How many injuries were there? Damage to property? Complaints?

Possibly it was over 400ft AGL but controlled airspace in that area beings at 2,000ft. Commercial operation? Show me the rules against it. Most likely some kid got too adventurous for his own good and is now too scared to come forward. Who can blame him? The press, police and FAA are frothing like rabid dogs!

This needs to stop and it needs to stop now!
 
ianwood said:
Possibly it was over 400ft AGL but controlled airspace in that area beings at 2,000ft.
FWIW, controlled airspace through most of the area starts at 700' and the floor in the area is nowhere higher than 1200 feet. I assume you're talking about Class B airspace, but Class E is still Controlled Airspace.
 
dkatz42 said:
FWIW, controlled airspace through most of the area starts at 700' and the floor in the area is nowhere higher than 1200 feet. I assume you're talking about Class B airspace, but Class E is still Controlled Airspace.

I only glanced at the chart but if E starts at 700 there then it too is irrelevant. Not that E is a big deal.

SilentAV8R said:
So you are equating this to being no different than some kid throwing a ball over a neighbor's fence? No harm, no foul?

Yes. Maybe slightly more serious than a ball over a fence but only marginally. It certainly isn't the egregious malfeasance being portrayed in the media and oddly perpetuated here. Show me imminent harm or foul and I may change my mind.

And for those that think that whoever caused this incident played into the hands of the media and the FAA by flying where they did, I would argue that you are playing into their hands even more by perpetuating this idea that a 1.3kg remote controlled toy is inherently dangerous.
 
ianwood said:
It certainly isn't the egregious malfeasance being portrayed in the media

The request by one TV to call 'Crimestoppers' if you know who did it was over the top. The obvious reporting errors about airspace and such was also lame. However, this kind of crap is going to rain down on us in the end. I'm getting worried that I will end up having to license my 810.

I'm with you that it was just someone who lost a $1300 drone and that is probably enough trouble. But it won't be enough for the nannies. Witch hunt is right.
 
Omg. Just curious what you guys would think if I threw a 1.3 kg brick from a neighbouring building at the skyscraper. Of coarse 1.3 kg can do damage. A couple of hundred gram bullet can kill someone. Imagine how quick the government would adversely react if that had fallen on someone's windscreen and caused a fatal accident? People need to grow up and have A more responsible attitude to our hobby. Already the in australia these are being sold with a copy of the regulations. This is the first step in prosecuting people. You can't use the ingnorance excuse.
 
Ozzyguy said:
Omg. Just curious what you guys would think if I threw a 1.3 kg brick from a neighbouring building at the skyscraper. Of coarse 1.3 kg can do damage. A couple of hundred gram bullet can kill someone. Imagine how quick the government would adversely react if that had fallen on someone's windscreen and caused a fatal accident? People need to grow up and have A more responsible attitude to our hobby. Already the in australia these are being sold with a copy of the regulations. This is the first step in prosecuting people. You can't use the ingnorance excuse.

Unlike a brick, a Phantom would do little more than crack a windscreen from any height. But you have a point. We should license bricks. And while we're at it, we should definitely ban golf, baseball and cricket. They're just too dangerous. Someone is going to break a window! Ignorance is no excuse.
 
Ozzyguy said:
Omg. Just curious what you guys would think if I threw a 1.3 kg brick from a neighbouring building at the skyscraper. Of coarse 1.3 kg can do damage. A couple of hundred gram bullet can kill someone.

Oh my, not this silliness again.

Here's a hint: The bullet is traveling much faster and has much more kinetic energy. Additionally, the surface area of the Phantom is much greater than that of the bullet and the brick. The Phantom is also less dense.

Science is cool.
 
Yes science is fun. And it doesn't undermine the potential for an accident. The bullet point is that any mass can do damage when combined with acceleration. Take a jet travelling a hundreds of km per hour and there is huge potential for damage. But the children of the world who want to play wherever they want will never be convinced.
 
I love how aircraft jet turbines can eat 5 pound hailstones or a 10 pound albatross .... but apparently the same aircraft would explode in fireballs with bodies falling all over the city landscapes if it hit a 2 pound plastic toy ??

Safety is one thing ... (which I do excerise) .... but the manic hype of death and destruction coming down upon us all is just starting to get a little hysterical. :roll:

pity the story wasnt done by FAUX Newz ... that would have been way more scary, bogga bogga, //// .... they are gonna git ya type of ranting .... ROFLOLOLOL

"Pidgeon crashes into 30th floor window, lands on balcony reaping untold death and destruction all over the mid-town USA ... FAA now in hot pursuit of suspect with light fluffy hairline and single claw foot after "Gerald the piebold feathered terrorist" was last seen flying off into the sunset" this **** is getting funnier than South Park :lol:
 
Ha ha yeah. I guess the damage can vary from accident to accident. The difference I guess is in America the dead bird can't be sued. The RC pilot could be :lol:
 
I wanted to claim the phantom in saint Louie ohhh yeah that's mine I was flying a bit to high to close to the bldg and could not tell how close I was because I was a bit inexperienced because I bought the phantom on www.woot.com for $300.00 a few days ago

No harm no foul newbie!


It's great to see you all debating weather or not the confederates are gonna come take your phantom toys away because of some idiot doing something stupid. Society has delt with the fringe for decades and will continue to do so. There are always gonna be some that push the line that make the others look bad but that's called living in a society where people are allowed to be stupid, uneducated, racist, and just plain old dumb. Yes here in the United States we allow people to be dumb shites and it's great because it allows the ones who tow the line and follow the rules to isolate themselves from the I-D-10-t's

I am a responsible hobbyist, pilot, flyer, goober, nerd what ever you wanna call me but I'm responsible and the more I fly the more experienced and the more responsible I get and I give the newbies the benefit of doubt as I did stupid shite when I first started flying as well but I learned and continue to do so and I'm sure most of those stupid shites will as well and the ones that don't don't will become more and more isolated

And yes one day we will likely have to register or get licensed or take some ridicules online safety course but I welcome any and all of it as it is one simple measure to take a step towards enhancing public safety and a register of us goobers that fly these things just in case one of us decides to fly one into a passenger jet engine

But in closing I don't fear "Obama" showing up at my door and taking my phantom because some guy in Kansas crashed a phantom into a circle k while boning his cousin at the local drive in theatre.
 

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