The FAA is fining the NYC Phantom crash dbag

[QYV]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/0...er-the-faa-is-trying-to-fine-a-drone-hobbyist

The FAA is officially trying to fine that douche in NYC that flew around midtown crashing into buildings before nearly killing someone when his Phantom (1) finally couldn't take the crashes anymore and plummeted to a midtown sidewalk.
In case you can't tell from my tone, I think the guy completely deserves it... aside from the fact that all major cities are FAA Class-B restricted (as in, no hobby aircraft period) which hasn't stopped many of us, this guy was flying midday above busy midtown streets and sidewalks which no responsible quad pilot would do. also he couldn't control the **** thing you can find some of the raw footage here

anyway not trying to soapbox, my point is the FAA is going after him for "flying his drone carelessly and recklessly" as well as violating FAA rules.

So fellow NYC city pilots (and everyone, really): be responsible! fly smart avoid places where your drone could hurt someone if it crashed. There's all sorts of people posting videos from parks (not over people obviously), rivers, bridges etc. and nobody seems to be going after them. yet.

 

[Big Chips]

While i agree the guy was stupid and it looks like he was crashing in to buildings on purpose that should be a criminal offense.

I have one observation/question that no one seems to be asking...what is the FAA going to do to Channel 7 the ABC affiliate for breaking the FAA rules for using the drone footage for commercial reason and for reporting and journalism??? HUH!?

What about it FAA Snitches on this board? And yes they are on the drone boards all over the internet....why dont you impose a fine against the news Chanel.

 

[FRS]

what is the FAA going to do to Channel 7 the ABC affiliate for breaking the FAA rules for using the drone footage for commercial reason and for reporting and journalism??? HUH!?

What about it FAA Snitches on this board? And yes they are on the drone boards all over the internet....why dont you impose a fine against the news Chanel.

Dude totally agree.. I laughed with a friend and said if I can't do this commercially how is the company that is commercially selling me this stuff advertising drone footage?? Wouldn't that be a violation in a sense?

 

[garrock]

Back in October 2013, I used his video to locate exactly where he took off from and plot the flight path:

137 E 38th St
New York, NY 10016

Building entrance on 38th St between Lexington Ave and 3rd Ave

 

[doug86]

I laughed with a friend and said if I can't do this commercially how is the company that is commercially selling me this stuff advertising drone footage?? Wouldn't that be a violation in a sense?

Ok, that's actually a good point. Isn't DJI using their own videos "commercially" to sell their quads? Perhaps the loophole is that they don't actually sell the video?

 

[QYV]

Back in October 2013, I used his video to locate exactly where he took off from and plot the flight path:

137 E 38th St
New York, NY 10016

Building entrance on 38th St between Lexington Ave and 3rd Ave

so did they, apparently. well also his face is clearly visible in the raw footage as he takes off. idiot.

 

[FRS]

Yeah that's definitely the loophole. Makes you really wonder though.. That's why I will never sell my video but I do have some really nice memory cards for sale ;P

 

[yawnalot29]

I laughed with a friend and said if I can't do this commercially how is the company that is commercially selling me this stuff advertising drone footage?? Wouldn't that be a violation in a sense?

Ok, that's actually a good point. Isn't DJI using their own videos "commercially" to sell their quads? Perhaps the loophole is that they don't actually sell the video?

Wouldn't that depend on WHERE the footage was shot? If it was shot outside of USA, FAA has no jurisdiction.

 

[FRS]

Yeah definitely good point.

 

[SilentAV8R]

Here's the story:

http://www.suasnews.com/2014/05/28920/f ... tom-pilot/

 

[FRS]

That's one fine I hope they collect. It's idiots like this that make everyone look bad. Surprised it's only 3k..

 

[Suwaneeguy]

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-us ... -time-ever

This page has the actual video.
Looks to me like the guy was maybe on his absolute first flight. As he had trouble getting it off the ground.
I counted at least four crashes into a building, 20 floors up, the bird shook it off, uprighted andcontinued flying.

What gets me is, the NTSB has told the FAA they have no jurisdiction over RC vehicles.
And the frickin FAA STILL wants to hound people for being so bold and brave?

Oh and mister police officer kind sir, please understand that there are NO current laws in effect in regards to the use of drones.
So if you want to cite me, I will challenge you in court.

 

[SilentAV8R]

Just to be clear, this guy was neither bold nor brave. He was stupid through and through.

 

[Timtro]

How many UAV aerial video shots can you count in the 2014 HGTV Smart Home?

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv-smart-home-2014-front-exterior-videos/video/index.html

In one of the videos there is a treetop level roof fly-over. A camera boom simply can't do that and any aircraft other than a UAV would be grounded for "buzzing" a residential area.

What the FAA is doing is known as "selective enforcement" of the obvious offenders, but the FAA's continued failure to address the issue of the need for reasonable regulation is contributing to the growing number of irresponsible activities.

 

[BruceTS]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/0...er-the-faa-is-trying-to-fine-a-drone-hobbyist

The FAA is officially trying to fine that douche in NYC that flew around midtown crashing into buildings before nearly killing someone when his Phantom (1) .

This is totally untrue, a phantom falling from the sky doesn't have the force to cause death on impact. Note the video failed to show the actual crash and was probably deleted, since the guy claiming it nearly hit him, probably happened upon it after it came down, also the actual Phantom and camera where are they?

 

[SilentAV8R]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/0...er-the-faa-is-trying-to-fine-a-drone-hobbyist

The FAA is officially trying to fine that douche in NYC that flew around midtown crashing into buildings before nearly killing someone when his Phantom (1) .

This is totally untrue, a phantom falling from the sky doesn't have the force to cause death on impact. Note the video failed to show the actual crash and was probably deleted, since the guy claiming it nearly hit him, probably happened upon it after it came down, also the actual Phantom and camera where are they?

So a Phantom weighs in at about 3 pounds. Figure an average of 10 feet per story and this guy was hitting buildings 25 stories up.

So let me ask you. WOuld you be willing to let me drop a 3 pound weight on your head from a height of 250 feet?? It will be going around 85 miles per hour when it hits your head. Do the math/physics. I'm betting that could easily kill you.

 

[Buk]

Had he flown flawlessly and zoomed around the buildings and shown expert flying skills and produced an amazing video, it would have been posted on YouTube and some folks here would be going uh and ah. Unfortunately, the Phantom flew away, perhaps on it's own out of the control of the pilot even after switching to manual. A modified line from a movie, "The Phantom 1 models were always a bit skittish".

It's unfortunate someone was nearly hit. Something falling from above would have scared me too, whether five feet away or twenty feet away. Thank goodness no one was hurt. When glass windows or decorative panels fall of off buildings, I've often wondered who gets fined or sued, the architect, the builder, the installers, or the building owner?

Lesson learned for $2,200. I hope someone follows the story and reports back if the fine is paid or not.

 

[garrock]

The movie: Alien 2

 

[FRS]

Bruce you cannot prove that and if you can I'd love to see the scientific proof that a phantom can't kill someone.. If a phantom hit a baby in a stroller in the head?????? Come on man.. I am all for UAV technology advancing but it would be like saying "a car can't kill anyone under 20mph so you should totally buy one" we all know how dangerous this "hobby" is and we all perform safety checks before we fly. Anything can happen at anytime, but you can avoid situations by not putting yourself in them.

 

[thongbong]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/0...er-the-faa-is-trying-to-fine-a-drone-hobbyist

The FAA is officially trying to fine that douche in NYC that flew around midtown crashing into buildings before nearly killing someone when his Phantom (1) .

This is totally untrue, a phantom falling from the sky doesn't have the force to cause death on impact. Note the video failed to show the actual crash and was probably deleted, since the guy claiming it nearly hit him, probably happened upon it after it came down, also the actual Phantom and camera where are they?

What is your stance on flying in situations like this? Do you have safety guidelines for flying your Phantom? And you've got to be kidding me when you say a 1350gram weight falling at terminal velocity is not fatal?!