Drone Crashes Right in Front of Cyclist, Causing Nasty Wreck

sar104 · May 10, 2017

peilander said:
The public will always blame the drone operator, right or wrong. No win situation. It's the same with aircraft, the first blame is " pilot error" until proven different. If the media gets it we know how that will end too. Lost link, crash into a tree, or sudden wind gust, shouldn't make anyone an "idiot" it happens.

No, the first response after an aircraft accident is not to blame the pilot. Ridiculous, unsupported assertions like that are not helpful either.

Helihover · May 10, 2017

sar104 said:
It's not difficult to come up with scenarios in which the operator cannot reasonably held responsible for an accident. You could be flying miles from anyone else and have a hardware-failure-driven flyaway, resulting in the drone flying into a congested area and causing damage and injury. At the other end of the spectrum, you could be flying over that same congested area to begin with, crash into an obstacle, and achieve the same result. So presenting the question as you did serves as a good reminder not to jump to conclusions, but also cherry picks an explanation that may not be very likely or credible in this case.

We don't, as far as I can see, have confirmation of the circumstances of this crash but, if it wasn't the distant flyaway scenario (has one of those ever actually been documented to have happened?), and since there was an event that might well be the reason for flying in the vicinity, then it was likely pilot error in flying into the tree. Flying into a tree on the side of a road on which a public road race is taking place is poor piloting at best and, given the proximity of the tree to the riders, is not going to pass the "fly responsibly" and "don't fly over people" requirements.

But you are still correct in your underlying point that the cause of the Phantom crash is not yet known. Presumably you are now accepting that the Phantom took out the cyclist though.

Yes of course.

BigAl07 · May 10, 2017

With the exception of lost link/Fly away type of scenario, however this happened it comes back to the person operating the sticks. As soon as we initiate flight of the aircraft we are responsible for the outcome of the flight regardless of intent.

If we want to be taken seriously as Big Boys & Girls then we also have to put on our big person pants and take full responsibility for our actions regardless. If we fly in a manner where our aircraft "could" in any way reach other people we have made the conscious decision to accept the possibility of aircraft to human events like this.

The only scenario where I could even remotely imagine this wouldn't come back to bite us is if this was being flown by a young kid in the park (under the guidance of an experienced adult) and the child experience disorientation and the aircraft got into the trees before the adult could intervene. I don't see this being very likely.

Seawolf · May 10, 2017

DJI manufactured the device, some with obstacle avoidance. If this was a P4P, why did it not avoid the tree?

sar104 · May 10, 2017

Seawolf said:
DJI manufactured the device, some with obstacle avoidance. If this was a P4P, why did it not avoid the tree?

From the view of the battery in the video, it was a P2 or P3. Even had it been a P4, it could have been in sport mode, or flying backwards, for example. Why did you think it was a P4P?

pomonabill220 · May 10, 2017

Yes, it was NOT a P4.
That looked VERY painful!

CactusJackSlade · May 11, 2017

Helihover said:
Did the rider say anything about the operator offering to pay for the damaged bike parts? Or him filing suit?

Being a bit tight lipped about it...

CactusJackSlade · May 11, 2017

Helihover said:
Exactly. I counted 3 people total on the left hand side and zero where the UAV crashed. I was seen parking structures and empty parking lots. The UAV came from the left hand side, it wasn't flying over the cyclist.

So here a serious question for you experts. If I were flying in an empty parking lot over nobody and lost link, crashed into a tree and then it feel on a bicyclist, would I be the idiot?

If the lost link was due to your negligence (flying behind a building or trees or something) then yes.

CactusJackSlade · May 11, 2017

Seawolf said:
DJI manufactured the device, some with obstacle avoidance. If this was a P4P, why did it not avoid the tree?

I'm inclined to believe this was a P2 - this is only a bit over 2 miles from Mather AFB. It is very probable that a P3 and later models with the geofencing restrictions would have not even initiated the motors to fly. If I am in tat area soon I will do a test.

Also the frame grab of the battery I previously posted shows it is a P2 or P3 so either one would not have obstacle avoidance...

In any case and regardless the operator is responsible for their aircraft as soon as it leaves the ground and should never depend entirely on technology in place of common sense and pilot skills.

805hd · May 12, 2017

I wish I had a button in my truck that would make this happen to all cyclists in a 1 mile radius!

He went OTB (over the bars) a endo or a stoppie is a intended controlled event lol in all seriousness I hope the guy is okay...

VFA22Bonefish · May 13, 2017

THA said:
Looks like cyclist took a while to panic and hit front brake to crash. Doesn't look like the UAV actually crashed him but instead made him make a mistake and crash. Either way, UAV operator was wrong and dangerous. Even looks staged but can't believe someone would actually deliberately crash himself like that

I don't think the rider intentionally crashed himself.. From what I see, it doesn't look like the rider hit the front brake, but rather the drone got caught in the spokes and locked up against his front fork causing him to go up and over.

DRR · May 13, 2017

Helihover said:
Exactly. I counted 3 people total on the left hand side and zero where the UAV crashed. I was seen parking structures and empty parking lots. The UAV came from the left hand side, it wasn't flying over the cyclist.

So here a serious question for you experts. If I were flying in an empty parking lot over nobody and lost link, crashed into a tree and then it feel on a bicyclist, would I be the idiot?

Yes, of course you would. You should not be flying around trees and obstacles. Have more sense. Keep away from people and roads. .. and trees.

Helihover · May 13, 2017

DRR said:
Yes, of course you would. You should not be flying around trees and obstacles. Have more sense. Keep away from people and roads. .. and trees.

Lol. You obviously don't fly commercially.

Migsey · May 13, 2017

THA said:
Looks like cyclist took a while to panic and hit front brake to crash. Doesn't look like the UAV actually crashed him but instead made him make a mistake and crash. Either way, UAV operator was wrong and dangerous. Even looks staged but can't believe someone would actually deliberately crash himself like that

If you look te the slow mo replay, you will actually see the WHOLE body of what looks like a Phantom 3 entangled in the bikes's chain. The cyclist did not brake or make any mistake whatsoever. His nasty accident happened when the drone got trapped between the pedals! This is another blow to the hobby by someone who is a complete idiot

Squirrel! · May 13, 2017

Totally and completely fake...You guys are so gullible.

Squirrel! · May 13, 2017

CactusJackSlade said:
Verified by the rider himself....

Not even close. The guy continues to ride another 100+ yards before the idiot used his front brake only....

805hd · May 13, 2017

Looks pretty real to me.. besides don't most of these race bikes not have front brakes? Only rear.

Can clearly see the phantom stuck in the spokes of the front wheel. Lol that guy folded like a lawn chair!

stevebez · May 13, 2017

So how come we dont see these types of crashes with radio controlled planes/helis etc? Because they are flown in designated areas...

Wont be long before drones are classified under the same rules.