Drone crashes into Seattle's Great Wheel

GoodnNuff · Nov 11, 2015

Was just watching the evening news when a "breaking story" came on; A "drone" has crashed into Seattle's big Ferris wheel that is on the waterfront. No injuries since the cars are enclosed glass gondolas, but the police "have the drone in custody" (I'm picturing its landing gear handcuffed to a cop) and are searching for the pilot.

Drone hits the Seattle Great Wheel

GoodnNuff · Nov 11, 2015

News crews are live on the scene! LOL - it is about 45 degrees out tonight, but they showed the plastic patio chairs the drone crashed into and said it was fortunate no one was hit. At that temperature they would have been bundled up and padded and likely unhurt..heh.
The drone hit the wheel and bounced onto the patio. I'm sure someone flew around the wheel, lost signal and initiated RTH...and boom into the wheel.

BigAl07 · Nov 11, 2015

Uh oh! Well that's gonna add fuel to the "Registration" fire for sure. I'm sure that Great Wheel is going to need a lot of repairs and repainting where those horrible props just "cut it up" (sarcasm).

eBird · Nov 11, 2015

Hmmmm. Now we need to figure out which one of us did it. Who's from Seattle?

snerd · Nov 11, 2015

eBird said:
Hmmmm. Now we need to figure out which one of us did it. Who's from Seattle?

Exactly what I was thinking lol!! You gonna fess up, Mr GoodNuff?!

GoodnNuff · Nov 12, 2015

snerd said:
Exactly what I was thinking lol!! You gonna fess up, Mr GoodNuff?!

I was home eating a big bowl of Chicken Pozole when this happened. However I did just drive by the Big Wheel along the Alaskan Way Viaduct this morning on my way to work. I couldn't see any damage. But the news this morning said the search is on for the pilot. I didn't realize the city had made this a NFZ along with the Space Needle now. They haven't shown the guilty drone yet, no idea if it was a Phantom, Inspire, Solo, or what.

kenjancef · Nov 12, 2015

GoodnNuff said:
However I did just drive by the Big Wheel along the Alaskan Way Viaduct this morning on my way to work.

Don't get too close, they might think it was you!!! lol... Maybe if it were registered they'd have found the operator already... (did I just go there...??)

brianld · Nov 12, 2015

I saw this as well. It was a P3P from the looks of it. (Link to video & pics below)

VIDEO: Drone hits Seattle Great Wheel | www.kirotv.com

GoodnNuff · Nov 12, 2015

brianld said:
I saw this as well. It was a P3P from the looks of it. (Link to video & pics below)

VIDEO: Drone hits Seattle Great Wheel | www.kirotv.com

Not me, my P3 has the shiny Red decals on its arms.
Surprised it punched a hole through the plastic table though.
I wondered when I read the quote last night that said "We have plastic everywhere!" if it was referring to the drone's parts or the table's pieces.

BigAl07 · Nov 12, 2015

OMG! It broke some plastic and "Sent plastic flying". I'm pretty sure if you dropped a cell phone from that height onto a COLD plastic table you'd see the same level of damage.

Although if the owners name and contact had been on the aircraft it would "look" better. Who knows how far way the operator actually was. It could have been a RTH situation or anything.

I do see where they are extracting the photo and video so they may be able to figure out more details. I really hope the rightful owner contacts them and clears things up.

davis · Nov 12, 2015

requiring registration for DOT and FAA isnt going to stop this if one doesnt register or purchases off the street.
i'd be pissed if that landed on my head though.

GoodnNuff · Nov 12, 2015

BigAl07 said:
OMG! It broke some plastic and "Sent plastic flying". I'm pretty sure if you dropped a cell phone from that height onto a COLD plastic table you'd see the same level of damage.

Although if the owners name and contact had been on the aircraft it would "look" better. Who knows how far way the operator actually was. It could have been a RTH situation or anything.

I do see where they are extracting the photo and video so they may be able to figure out more details. I really hope the rightful owner contacts them and clears things up.

Actually it was 50 degrees here at 5 pm yesterday when the accident happened. I don't think the plastic was made brittle at that temp?
Regardless, I don't want my drone to hit anyone in the head. Fortunately I'm the only person I've nearly hit in the head with my drone. Several times too.

BigAl07 · Nov 12, 2015

GoodnNuff said:
Actually it was 50 degrees here at 5 pm yesterday when the accident happened. I don't think the plastic was made brittle at that temp?
Regardless, I don't want my drone to hit anyone in the head. Fortunately I'm the only person I've nearly hit in the head with my drone. Several times too.

Oh I read last night someone mentioned how it was "cold outside" which is why that area was closed off to begin with. Maybe my idea of cold (water freezing before it hits the ground) is different that the guy I was reading last night.

I agree that it would have hurt and probably make a cut etc but the media sure does play it up nicely LOL! I guess in this one particular case the sky really was falling LOLLLLLL

GoodnNuff · Nov 12, 2015

BigAl07 said:
Oh I read last night someone mentioned how it was "cold outside" which is why that area was closed off to begin with. Maybe my idea of cold (water freezing before it hits the ground) is different that the guy I was reading last night.

I agree that it would have hurt and probably make a cut etc but the media sure does play it up nicely LOL! I guess in this one particular case the sky really was falling LOLLLLLL

It was me who said it was cold - I thought it was in the 40's like it was at my house, but I'm 20 miles out of Seattle in the Cascade foothills. I had said that anyone sitting outside would have probably been bundled up and padded, protected from harm. But then I saw the hole in the table.
We in the PNW always like to complain about the weather, below 50 we are cold, above 80, we are roasting. A skiff of snow sends us into panic and we start hoarding food...

BigAl07 · Nov 12, 2015

GoodnNuff said:
It was me who said it was cold - I thought it was in the 40's like it was at my house, but I'm 20 miles out of Seattle in the Cascade foothills. I had said that anyone sitting outside would have probably been bundled up and padded, protected from harm. But then I saw the hole in the table.
We in the PNW always like to complain about the weather, below 50 we are cold, above 80, we are roasting. A skiff of snow sends us into panic and we start hoarding food...

Ah gotcha. LOL!

I am one of the freaks who lives in a cold climate but refuses to accept it. I wear my flip-flops year round and even have pictures of me wearing them in the snow LOL!

Now that we're all clear time to go do some flying

GoodnNuff · Nov 12, 2015

BigAl07 said:
Ah gotcha. LOL!

I am one of the freaks who lives in a cold climate but refuses to accept it. I wear my flip-flops year round and even have pictures of me wearing them in the snow LOL!

Now that we're all clear time to go do some flying

You'd fit in well up here. Shorts and flip flops are often worn year round, though some of us add socks to our sandals when the weather gets cold.

kenjancef · Nov 12, 2015

I'll give you the 100+ inches of snow we got up here this past winter... ugh...

bbfpv · Nov 13, 2015

BigAl07 said:
I am one of the freaks who lives in a cold climate but refuses to accept it

North Carolina is a "cold climate"? Isn't the average winter temperature there like 45 degrees?

syotr · Nov 13, 2015

The P3 looks in pretty good shape considering the hole it punched in the table. The prop damage may have happened in the collision with the wheel. Looks like the camera and compass got knocked off but otherwise looks like it would fly.