Category Archives: Wrecks/Fails/Close Calls
Moron arrested in Israel after flying a Mavic Pro just 90ft from planes landing at Sde Dov Airport
A 20-year-old man has been arrested in Israel after flying a DJI drone near an airport – close to where aeroplanes were attempting to land on the runway – and then bragging about the feat on social media.
On Friday 14 July, Niv Stobenzki went to an outdoor bar about half a mile away from the Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv and launched his Mavic Pro drone into the air. He used the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to capture footage of commercial jet liners on the approach to the airport, just 90ft (27m) away.
A Gold Coast man was caught flying his drone near a chopper at Sea World
The drone pilot said he didn’t expect his flying device would come close to the helicopter.
“It was pretty sketchy how close it got,” he said.
Footage has emerged of Kian Van Dewiel flying his drone at The Spit this afternoon and swarming several beach goers before the aerial toy hovers near a Sea World chopper.
van Dewiel could face hefty fines of up to $20,000 after flying his drone under a helicopter near Sea World.
Drone falls, injures several people during Turkish President’s speech
Several people were injured when a television camera drone fell from the sky in the Turkish capital Ankara, during a broadcast of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s speech marking the one-year anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
Turkish journalist Engin Bas told Global News that Erdogan stopped his speech and asked paramedics to tend to the injured, before resuming his speech.
Turkish daily Hurriyet reported that two people were taken to hospital for treatment, while four were treated on-site.
Example of how the media can stoke the flames of anti-drone hysteria.
The headline of the article: “Plane hits drone over Adelaide airport”
From the very first line in the article: “A light plane has been damaged after hitting what’s thought to be a drone near Adelaide’s Parafield Airport.”
From the next sentence in the article: “when it was struck by an object”.
So which is it? Did the plane hit an “object” or a drone?
So many problems with this ridiculously biased article. It was struck by an “object”. The plane was landing but the altitude at the time of the “strike” is not mentioned so, in theory, someone might have thrown a rock. Or a bird could have flown into it which actually happens frequently unlike a drone-plane collision which I don’t believe has ever happened. To my knowledge there is not a single documented incident of a drone/airplane collision. One can imagine any number of other explanations for how the plane was “struck”. Maybe it was a UFO. To automatically presume that the “object” was a drone when there are other more likely possibilities is nothing more than trolling for readership by a failing newspaper industry. Preying on fears among some of the public – think Chicken Little or Henny Penny.
I’m certainly not defending morons who ignore common sense and laws in the flying of drones. Nor do I doubt that the day will come when there will be a drone/plane collision. And I am in favor of reasonable rules/laws in the flying of drones.
He was going to review a $1,200 drone, but he lost it in Hawaii — here’s what happened
On my final flight — which wasn’t meant to be my final flight — I took the Phantom 4 out to film along the coast on Oahu’s south shore. Before the battery alert even popped up, I pressed the “return home” button on the controller, which puts the Phantom 4 into auto-pilot to make a bee line to the take-off location.
The moment the drone began making its way home, I lost the video streaming feed from the drone to my iPhone.
It was odd, as the video feed was fine on its way out, and it raised my heart-rate a little bit. Yet, I knew that the drone was at least on its way home regardless, and I thought I’d get the video feed back as it got closer.
Read the full story here.
Drone crashes through window of Kate Spade Soho boutique
A drone crashed through the window of a fancy Soho boutique Tuesday night, police said.
The remote-controlled flying device smashed through the glass and landed inside the Kate Spade shop on Broome St. near Mercer St. around 8:30 p.m.
The store was closed at the time and no one was injured, police said.
Investigators are working to find out who the drone belongs to. No arrests have been made.
Prescott Valley, Arizona man arrested for delaying Fire fight with drone
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office says 54-year-old Gene Alan Carpenter from Prescott Valley has been arrested for interfering with fire fighting efforts of the Goodwin Fire while flying a drone in the area.
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office says Carpenter recklessly endangered 14 aircraft and the ground crews associated by flying an unmanned drone in close airspace to the Goodwin Fire between June 24 and June 28.
“If it had hit someone, it could have killed them”. Well, that’s an exaggeration isn’t it?
“It had been flying low, buzzing over our heads and around the beach for about 40 minutes before it crashed. We think it came from South Sands – there was a large group of people on a balcony there. We were gobsmacked. It was scary. If it had hit someone, it could have killed them.”
Martin explained: “We were paddling around the rocks between North Sands and South Sands when a drone appeared, spoiling the tranquility of the evening.
“When we came back to North Sands, there were five or six people in the water. We suddenly heard a scream as the drone fell out of the sky, landing in the middle of the group, only five feet from the swimmers. They were incredibly lucky not to have been hurt.
