P3P pilot says " I'm Sorry " No charges filed by Police

[Phantomsphere]

Yep that was a P3P that struck two people Memorial Day in Massachusetts during a parade
in Marblehead. Lucky he didn't hit a 95 year old veteran and be facing serious charges.
Wonder what was the cause of the crash? That guy is lucky the Police did not arrest him.

Phantomsphere

 

[Apparition]

Found it http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/26/8661679/drone-crash-memorial-day-parade

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/05/25/drone-crashes-hits-2-people-during-marblehead-parade/

 

[Phantomsphere]

Saw it on Fox News this morning. Google "man hit in head by drone" you can read it.

 

[sawx75]

It was all I heard today. Why was that moron flying over a crowd?

 

[Phantomsphere]

Anybody get the name of the knucklehead?

 

[Marlin009]

Why was that moron flying over a crowd?

You answered your own question.

 

[jlo]

The old adage "there is no such thing as bad press" does not apply. What an idiot...

 

[lesn8r]

sadly it's this kind of poorly thought out flying will ruin the sport for all of us. to fly directly over a crowd where there is a risk of hurting people is just not smart. it was announced the FAA is looking into this, this can only lead to even more restrictions.... please think your flight plans out and account for the unintended risks...

 

[fastsmiles]

Think before you fly and plan for the worse. Accidents do happen, don't endanger bystanders, don't endanger our sport.

 

[caffeinated]

But but but.... They'd flown before and nothing had happened! How could they possibly know that flying at low altitude over a crowd near a building could end badly...

Honestly these are the things that need to be stock readibg, amongst the how to guides, for new flyers (and I'm one of them). Shouldn't be needed but apparently is.

 

[Phantomsphere]

What if Dji were to install an internal "Kill" switch that could be accessed by law enforcement
and a violator could have his drone shut down like a bait car. Suspect pays his fine and the
suspect receives a restart code along with the receipt. When people like this screw up who
knows what lawmakers will come up with. A few bad eggs can ruin it for the rest of us.

 

[Evel_Knievel]

You all keep saying don't fly over crowds, don't endanger bystanders, etc...these thing have a +- 5 mile range unless you're flying it in the middle of the desert, ocean, or large lake we are putting some trust in the equipment. I flew in a large park today with some joggers/walkers not far away, am I an idiot? Where do you geniuses fly? Please define exactly what is an acceptable risk. I'm not defending this guy, but you all do understand the range of these birds, right?

 

[lesn8r]

when I started RC flying many many years ago. I was introduced to it by my Dad, we were in a club and joined the AMA (
Academy of Model Aeronautics). all of these things, clubs, instructors, and parents, taught me to fly safe and to really think about the risks of what I was doing and where I was doing it. I'm afraid these things have gone by the wayside with very simple to fly units, I suspect this will cause some very interesting rules going forward.

 

[lesn8r]

You all keep saying don't fly over crowds, don't endanger bystanders, etc...these thing have a +- 5 mile range unless you're flying it in the middle of the desert, ocean, or large lake we are putting some trust in the equipment. I flew in a large park today with some joggers/walkers not far away, am I an idiot? Where do you geniuses fly? Please define exactly what is an acceptable risk. I'm not defending this guy, but you all do understand the range of these birds, right?

i suspect the risk is somewhat dependent upon the depth of your wallet. common sense should dictate flying over a large crowd has, inherently more risk than flying over one or two people. flying directly overhead is probably more risky than staying on the fringe of a crowd. in our highly litigious society common sense should be the rule of the day.

 

[detholm]

I live in marblehead and I've been flying my P2P+ for over a year. getting my p3p next week and this guy seems to have ruined flying in town for me.

I wasn't at the Parade but knowing this town they will know figure out some way to make them illegal

here's a shot from Marblehead (no people around)

 

[caffeinated]

You all keep saying don't fly over crowds, don't endanger bystanders, etc...these thing have a +- 5 mile range unless you're flying it in the middle of the desert, ocean, or large lake we are putting some trust in the equipment. I flew in a large park today with some joggers/walkers not far away, am I an idiot? Where do you geniuses fly? Please define exactly what is an acceptable risk. I'm not defending this guy, but you all do understand the range of these birds, right?

Can't be defined I don't think. And you're right, I too will fly over people at times, bit hard to avoid.

I won't hover it just above a crowd at an event right near trees and buildings.

Where that line crosses? NFI. It's a common sense thing and there's nothing common about it ironically.

What I fear is the assistance levels of these quads with GPS locks and stable hovers incorrectly gives pilots a level of comfort.
I'm glad I've learnt, albeit briefly, on a manual quad and failed my way to semi-success. I will take a level of healthy paranoia and respect into my P3 flights.

 

[lesn8r]

I live in marblehead and I've been flying my P2P+ for over a year. getting my p3p next week and this guy seems to have ruined flying in town for me.

I wasn't at the Parade but knowing this town they will know figure out some way to make them illegal

here's a shot from Marblehead (no people around)

That's a really nice shot! You're right it's a perception problem, it only takes a few bad decisions to cause us all harm. My company requires me to hold a pilots license and to have a spotter that holds a pilots license before I can fly on company related business. I suspect this might be where the US FAA is headed.

 

[Daniel Nelson]

You mean a pilot license to fly a plane? What are the costs involved in that? I have a medical condition that might prevent me from getting a license to fly a real airplane. But it certainly doesn't prevent me from flying a toy around in my back yard or in a park and such. The pilot license thing is ridiculous.

 

[ianwood]

Somebody flying over a crowd, that's bad. The national media having a flippin' field day because somebody got a scratch on their neck, that's pathetic.

 

[lesn8r]

You mean a pilot license to fly a plane? What are the costs involved in that? I have a medical condition that might prevent me from getting a license to fly a real airplane. But it certainly doesn't prevent me from flying a toy around in my back yard or in a park and such. The pilot license thing is ridiculous.

Yes I mean an FAA pilot's license. It has to do with company risk but there is no other governing body to assure folks have any kind of where with all for flying these drones. This is my company's policy (defense contractor) but I can see where the FAA could adopt this model. I'm not saying they will but since quad pilots don't really have a strong group lobby (like the AMA) this could be the way they go. To get a pilots license the cost is ~7K-9K this might be the throttle point they may be looking at.