Drone crashes on sidewalk near pedestrians in San Francisco USA

[Moosewax]

Drone Crashes Inspecting Cracked Window At Sinking Millennium Tower

So obviously I don't have all the facts. However if what the news reported is accurate, and all that happened was a loss of GPS, then that pilot does not look competent at all and is an example of what not to do.

This is also potentially a good example of why anyone trying to be a responsible drone operator while flying near people needs to know how to fly without GPS.

Best thing I did when I started over 3 years ago was to buy a $50 cheap quadcopter and put the hours in to get that muscle memory and orientation practice.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Agreed! Losing GPS does not result in a loss of control. It merely changes the flight mode from P mode into ATTI mode. Pilot is still in full control, able to correct for any horizontal drift caused by wind. Blaming the crash on loss of GPS is BS. Pilot didn't know how to fly the drone. The prop guards were the first clue that he didn't feel competent enough to fly without them! Oddly, even the prop guards didn't prevent the crash, so he must have flown full speed into the building, instead of merely glancing off it. He likely got disoriented as the drone drifted towards the building, panicked, and mistakenly flew the drone directly into the building at full speed, instead of away from it. Rookie mistake.

 

[Moosewax]

Agreed! Losing GPS does not result in a loss of control. It merely changes the flight mode from P mode into ATTI mode. Pilot is still in full control, able to correct for any horizontal drift caused by wind. Blaming the crash on loss of GPS is BS. Pilot didn't know how to fly the drone. The prop guards were the first clue that he didn't feel competent enough to fly without them! Oddly, even the prop guards didn't prevent the crash, so he must have flown full speed into the building, instead of merely glancing off it. He likely got disoriented as the drone drifted towards the building, panicked, and mistakenly flew the drone directly into the building at full speed, instead of away from it. Rookie mistake.

I wondered about the prop guards too. I reckon that the winds that are known to be a potential issue around skyscrapers may have also been a factor.

Total speculation here but;
The prop guard may have saved the props initially, but then acted as a fulcrum and the drone tilted itself up to like 90 degree pitch/roll and into the building.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

Drone Crashes Inspecting Cracked Window At Sinking Millennium Tower

So obviously I don't have all the facts. However if what the news reported is accurate, and all that happened was a loss of GPS, then that pilot does not look competent at all and is an example of what not to do.

This is also potentially a good example of why anyone trying to be a responsible drone operator while flying near people needs to know how to fly without GPS.

Best thing I did when I started over 3 years ago was to buy a $50 cheap quadcopter and put the hours in to get that muscle memory and orientation practice.

LMAO. This is why you don't hire Bubba and his drone to do professional work. A professional would have blocked pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk and used a camera with a zoom lens. An obvious 107.39 violation. Hope the feds are paying attention.

HOA- "Hey, my neighbor knows a guy who knows a guy...Hired!"

 

[Adonai Photography]

Drone Crashes Inspecting Cracked Window At Sinking Millennium Tower

So obviously I don't have all the facts. However if what the news reported is accurate, and all that happened was a loss of GPS, then that pilot does not look competent at all and is an example of what not to do.

This is also potentially a good example of why anyone trying to be a responsible drone operator while flying near people needs to know how to fly without GPS.

Best thing I did when I started over 3 years ago was to buy a $50 cheap quadcopter and put the hours in to get that muscle memory and orientation practice.

I agree with you. I got a small drone and flew it all over

 

[924]

The operator has some reading to do if he is going to pursue flight in the vicinity of people. He might start with "Multi-path signal errors." a problem that should be anticipated if you're going to fly in the vicinity of tall buildings.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

Yes, and Bubba should start by renting a brain.

 

[924]

Yes, and Bubba should start by renting a brain.

Not much to be gained by being mean, really. He learned a lesson the hard way that I'm sure others have learned the hard way. Maybe he'll find his way to this site and learn a few more lessons the easier way.

 

[bluesgeek]

No injuries or property damage. He doesn't have to report the crash.

 

[bluesgeek]

Pilot says he lost control and was having repeated GPS issues. He may have had simultaneous GPS and loss of connection.

Add to that the often strong currents existing in that environment and he could have drifted to impact in short order.

Doesn't say if he had a VO.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

Not much to be gained by being mean, really. He learned a lesson the hard way that I'm sure others have learned the hard way. Maybe he'll find his way to this site and learn a few more lessons the easier way.

Not being mean, just stating a fact. These types should be flying in an empty alfalfa field away from people and cows until they learn how to fly and stick to simple jobs like photographing barns, before tackling such a difficult mission with the wrong equipment. Dirty Harry said it best.."a man's gotta know his limitations."

I'm on my 4th year in the business; if someone offered me $5,000 today to inspect a wind turbine I'd flat decline for a simple fact; I''ve never inspected one and am clueless. BTW, what lesson regarding 107.39 did he learn? Did he not learn the dangers of flying over people during his 107 training? Did u see how close he came to smacking that pedestrian? I am assuming he is certificated.

 

[Weaponized]

The prop guards were the first clue that he didn't feel competent enough to fly without them! .

Well I run prop guards because I question the competency of the [Edited by Moderator]that built my drone. When NASA starts building them I may feel more secure. If this thing goes bats$%t crazy I'd at least like half a chance of not injuring someone and testing the limits of my insurance. Pure dumb logic would suggest that some incidents really have nothing to do with the operator. Not saying that's the case here...just sayin.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I don't know very many professionals or amateurs using prop guards except in very tight spaces, where they are used primarily to protect the equipment, and not to protect people from injury, who shouldn't be present anyway. Injuries to people are usually from a drone falling on them, where the prop guards won't help, unless they prevented the fall in the first place. I used prop guards on my first flight many years ago. During the landing, the aircraft still tipped over and broke a prop! Never used them since! They definitely affect performance and also give a false sense of security to the newbie operator.

 

[Weaponized]

I don't know very many professionals or amateurs using prop guards except in very tight spaces, where they are used primarily to protect the equipment, and not to protect people from injury, who shouldn't be present anyway. Injuries to people are usually from a drone falling on them, where the prop guards won't help, unless they prevented the fall in the first place. I used prop guards on my first flight many years ago. During the landing, the aircraft still tipped over and broke a prop! Never used them since! They definitely affect performance and also give a false sense of security to the newbie operator.

Just think, you can tell your friends that you know one now. I do actually operate in close proximity to obstacles (my primary concern) but they have no measurable effect on performance for what I do and I don't want to be "that one guy".

 

[BigAl07]

I don't know very many professionals or amateurs using prop guards except in very tight spaces, where they are used primarily to protect the equipment, and not to protect people from injury, who shouldn't be present anyway. Injuries to people are usually from a drone falling on them, where the prop guards won't help, unless they prevented the fall in the first place. I used prop guards on my first flight many years ago. During the landing, the aircraft still tipped over and broke a prop! Never used them since! They definitely affect performance and also give a false sense of security to the newbie operator.

DING DING DING!

The only times we use them are:

a) new student sUAS operator who is likely to fly into an object
b) Flying inside in tight quarters where prop-strike is likely and this allows the aircraft to possibly bounce off and keep going.

From my experience prop guards cost battery and performance so we reserve them for rare times when they make sense.

 

[Weaponized]

b) Flying inside in tight quarters where prop-strike is likely and this allows the aircraft to possibly bounce off and keep going.

From my experience prop guards cost battery and performance so we reserve them for rare times when they make sense.

That's often my environment. In fact I rarely operate in wide open spaces. Average flight time is largely under 7 minutes and I'll get 2 flights out of 1 battery which is 2 jobs per day. No ill effect at all.