Man convicted in drone crash that injures woman...

I hate to say it but... if you are doing something foolish and you injure another person as a result, shouldn't you be held responsible? Harassment of responsible drone operation is a bad thing, but if you screw up then you aren't immune either.

Or maybe you are just pointing out that irresponsible operation hurts us all, in which case... yes.
 
The fact of the matter is there are way too many irresponsible drone operators which is unfortunate for the responsible ones. As incidents like this become more common governments are going to react by placing more restrictions on drones. Yes, you can call me Cap'n Obvious. ;)
 
I hope to be able to afford a few acres in the country soon, so that I will be able to fly in freedom. I agree that because of the irresponsible behaviors of a few, all shall suffer the consequences. No public space will be open for drone flights.
 
Yes, you can call me Cap'n Obvious. ;)
I didn't recognize you without the hat ;-)

I feel like we're teetering on the edge of that slippery slope now...macho attitudes, feelings of entitlement and the inexperience of a massive group of new flyers will hasten the tip-over the edge...

If we don't want a wave of new restrictions I think we should register all drones with the FAA on activation to ensure accountability...mandate training...then give the FAA a mandate to enforce the existing "guidelines" with some serious (see above) consequences...then work within our community to not enable reckless behaviors...
 
The consequences from law enforcement might likely pale in comparison to a civil suit.
Really glad to hear of this (possible) outcome.
 
I always want more details on these stories. There could be many circumstances. What kind of craft was it? Was it pilot error or equipment malfunction? Seems like crashing into the side of a building after making a conscious decision to fly in a crowded place = amateur, however I could see where an experienced pilot with permission could have had something beyond his or her control. Even airliners crash.
 
The crash may not have been the operators fault but the decision to fly over people in a crowded environment was, and that was the violation. The cause of the crash itself is irrelevant. And it doesn't matter if airplanes crash too, they operate under a different set of regulations (and are similarly liable if operated recklessly.)
 
The article doesn't really say that the operator decided to fly over a crowd of people (Probably did), maybe he or she lost control several blocks away. My point is that the details DO effect the general perception of all of us. Drone attacks Space Needle is all some people want to hear to further their campaign to ban.
 
When folks who feel entitled to do as they please, do as they please, the rest of us tend to get punished for it. On the west side of Utah Lake in the SLC valley we had public land that many people would go on the weekends to target shoot there firearms -- I went there perhaps a dozen times myself. Then, a couple years ago, a couple entitled types went there and were firing incendiary rounds and started a wildfire. The end result: they shut the place down and all the law abiding folks like myself were from then on denied the opportunity to go target shooting there. Please, I do not want to start a guns debate here just pointing out that it's the same mindset that folks that feel as though they are entitled to do as they please go out and do stupid stuff and the rest of us are penalized for it.


Brian
 
I expect this is just the beginning, and we'd better get in all the fun we can now because heavy restrictions are coming.

I say this because of the P4 and drones with similar capabilities. It's now easy for anyone to fly well enough to be instantly dangerous.

I remember when I was starting out on RC helicopters... The hours of work just to be able to hover in place scared 99.99% of interested people away. By the time you could actually fly one anywhere, you were good enough to not fly into buildings. You had an immersive awareness of the helicopter -- its hard to explain, but when this "clicks" all the orientation issues go away (like when its pointed any direction but away).

No need to develop these senses to fly a P4. A kid can do it out of the box, and what's worse, fly FPV out of LOS, where there are people, poorly aware of what's NOT in their field of view.

Hell, I've been having a blast (and been amazed) with my Parrot Mambo that arrived a few days ago; has Visual Positioning, ultrasonic and barometric altitude sensing, a six-axis IMU. **** thing hovers in place pretty well in gusty wind -- I was shocked! It does get pushed around a bit more than the P4, but still does a pretty good job of staying in 12" or so sphere of where you release the sticks in gusty conditions. The stability system is more than adequate to make it easy to fly like the P4 -- that is, no skills needed. Only saving grace is no FPV through a camera, nor GPS to make something like RTH work. So it's strictly LOS.

Still, for a hundred bucks, anyone can have a small missile that can blind someone.

I absolutely love this hobby, am looking at ways to make it a business. However, I don't see how this all doesn't got to s h it pretty quick. Sorry for the depressing forecast. I hope I'm wrong, but would bet I'm right.
 
I've been building my drones for about 5 years and started WAY back in the old HoverFly Pro days. You had to fly those things. My first quad, built from Home Depot towel rods, is still flying. Hex's, Octo's, X8's you name it. You HAD TO FLY. I just got my new P4P a few weeks ago. I feel so stupid now that it's SO **** STABLE, not to mention easy; compared to what my others did. Don't get me wrong, those old birds were smooth. The P4P costs a mere fraction of what I have in those others. My poor Futaba radio is dust.

As a retired ATC'er, I pretty easily got my Part 107 license. Around here, people just laugh about big government overreach. They'll ruin the hobby if they don't start taking seriously, the dangers. While I was still working (retired last March), the FAA was issuing handouts to the local police on what to ask, what to look for. My fellow ATC supervisor probably fills out 4 NMAC reports a week with drones. It's getting pretty ridiculous. I see a complete smackdown on drone flying in the not so distant future. They'll probably be relegated to the local RC flying field or their own private property. You just can't fix stupid. It's a shame.
 
I see a complete smackdown on drone flying in the not so distant future. They'll probably be relegated to the local RC flying field or their own private property. You just can't fix stupid. It's a shame.
Spot on... that's pretty much the way I see it, and the P4 is what's scared the crap out of me that it's right around the corner -- like 2-3 years.

Depends on how epidemic it gets with property damage, or much worse, hurt people. Won't take more than a few serious injuries, played up in the news, to slam the hammer down fast.

Don't get me wrong -- I think love my P4, and think it's a technical marvel. I was shocked to find a drone costing 1/10th as much (Parrot Mambo) had basically the same stability systems, and is nearly as easy to fly.

That's the problem ;)
 
Since common sense it not working, I can see stronger regulations, real licensing perhaps 107 without the ability to fly commercially, and codified penalties for acts (intentional at one level, accidental at another). I am sure that the two folks who were hurt will sue for actual and emotional damage - monetary requests could be very high. Having at one time owned a medium sized business, I can tell you that litigation can be enormously hard both fiscally and mentally on folks add to that criminal sanctions and perhaps you can see why "pushing the limits" is a bad thing. The business I owned involved moving thousands of people each day, and I can assure you that no matter how much insurance you have it won't be enough to cover the cost of someone who is seriously hurt. Take this stuff very seriously, my company moved millions of people over thousands of miles and we never had anyone hurt that was either settled for money or brought to court. If you are underage your parents could lose everything they own and you could be incarcerated, if you are an "adult" you could lose your freedom, and incur debt for a lifetime - really. I am not a lawyer, but I have spent many tens of thousands of dollars using them and I have a good idea what court actions can cost and do to your life. Don't think that this case is ended yet - the civil stuff is yet to come and now that he is convicted it should be significantly less hard to win a case as the burden of proof is far less.
 
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Perspective. This needs to be seen with the proper perspective. Let's put these circumstances in another context...

Imagine someone is driving their car, and due to some factor (drowsy, inattentive, texting, equipment failure - pick one) the car slams into another car occupied car that just pulled off to the side of the road. Let's say the 'victim' in the car is hurt - knocked unconscious. Let's say her passenger suffers "a small bruise". Would that make the national news?

Would the at-fault driver be charged with reckless endangerment and face a $5k find and a year in jail? Or would he be cited for failing to maintain control of his vehicle, be sent to traffic court, and be on his way? Would the victims (or their insurers) not go after the at-fault driver for damages?

The point is, if we treated ever careless, reckless or dangerous activity the way we're treating drones right now, it would be Armageddon.

Nearly 31,000 Americans die in car crashes every year. One remote control aircraft knocks someone unconscious and gives another a small bruise, and we're freaking out. Yes, it shouldn't have happened. Yes, people are stupid. But no amount of laws, bans, restrictions, rules, or guidelines will make people suddenly become smarter and obey the law. Yet, that's exactly what most people are advocating for - more regs.
 

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