A businessman walking through the East Side of Manhattan Monday was startled when a 3-pound helicopter drone crash landed a few feet from him. The man recovered a memory card from the downed craft and passed it along to a local ABC News station, which broke the story of the accident this afternoon.
The man, concerned that he could have been injured by the falling drone, contacted local police, who told him that no law had been broken and did not pursue the pilot. FAA rules state, however, that hobbyist drones must fly below 400 feet and keep away from airports and heavily populated areas like city streets. The Verge contacted FAA spokesman Les Dorr, but reached the following voicemail message: "I am out of the office due to a lapse in funding. Please call back after news reports advise a resumption of services for all federal agencies."
Chris Anderson, founder of the drone company 3D Robotics and the online community for enthusiasts, DIY Drones, confirmed that this kind of flight was illegal. "The FAA has very clear guidelines on this, and such flying over built-up areas is clearly in violation of those rules (and has been for decades)," said Anderson. "One of the things we created DIY Drones for was to inform people about such regulations and principles of responsible flight. But clearly the message needs to get out better."
The Verge has also reached out to the NYPD for comment.
Comments
Pretty sure, it's against the law to bash somebody in the head with a bat. But there are no laws against bats. It's a tool (or toy). It's the bashing that is already illegal. So we have laws against bashing someone, whether it be a rock, stick, frying pan or multi-copter. It's all the same.
That's all the law we need.
LOS has been defined as 500 meters by quite a few aviation authorities, why you ask well find out what the difference between mist and fog is.
good for you, all your flights are line of sight, so lets forget the 44,000 other people on DIy drones who may not fly line of sight
All of my flights are "line of sight"
"Line of Sight." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/line of sight>.
"Line of Sight."
1: a line from an observer's eye to a distant point
2: the line between two points; specifically : the straight path between a transmitting antenna (as for radio or television signals) and a receiving antenna when unobstructed by the horizon
ok some of this is ok but i think it goes to far.
We are supposed to have a fun growing hobby not a stagnant hobby.
So forcing peopel to fly within line of sight is bad as that kills fpv and If someone is capable of flying further than line of sight then they are unlikely to be reckless
and forcing people to only do this as a hobby is very limiting,
we could say that these rules apply to hobby grade or hobby models and give special dedicated rules for business because to force no business use is insane!
Ok let me say what this guy did was wreck-less and horrible and he is VERY lucky no property or people where hurt in this stunt.
1. PURPOSE. This advisory circular outlines, and encourages voluntary compliance with, safety standards for model aircraft operators.
"Encourages Voluntary Compliance" is not a law so anything stated after the first line is "voluntary" try again Fail!
The most recent document to be release from our incompetent government was this
FAA Modernization And Reform Act 2012 [H.R.658.ENR] SEC.336
SEC. 336. SPECIAL RULE FOR MODEL AIRCRAFT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law
relating to the incorporation of unmanned aircraft systems into Federal
Aviation Administration plans and policies, including this subtitle,
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may
not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft,
or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft, if—
(1) the aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational
use;
(2) the aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-
based set of safety guidelines and within the programming
of a nationwide community-based organization;
(3) the aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless
otherwise certified through a design, construction, inspection,
flight test, and operational safety program administered
by a community-based organization;
(4) the aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere
with and gives way to any manned aircraft; and
(5) when flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator
of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air
traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at
the airport) with prior notice of the operation (model aircraft
operators flying from a permanent location within 5 miles of an
airport should establish a mutually-agreed upon operating procedure
with the airport operator and the airport air traffic control
tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport)).
(b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall
be construed to limit the authority of the Administrator to pursue
enforcement action against persons operating model aircraft who endanger
the safety of the national airspace system.
(c) MODEL AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘model
aircraft’’ means an unmanned aircraft that is—
(1) capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere
(2) flown within visual line of sight of the person operating
the aircraft; and
(3) flown for hobby or recreational purposes.
I see nothing in this document that states it is against the law to fly over people or over 400 ?
Again I generally follow the guidelines as its safer but when we start letting the government make laws about how we fly our RC airplanes it wont be long before they tell us we cant anymore.
had the guy hurt anyone or damaged any property by all means book him, maybe the FAA can try to fine him but i doubt that sticks as no laws, people or property where harmed by the grace of god
I wonder what the police would say if someone throws a 1Kg stone from a New York balcony nearly hitting people.
When you say "I know it isn't true in Australia, but many people think it is", what are you referring too?
The 400ft restriction? Or?
In CASA 101-3 docs,
"8.1 MODEL AIRCRAFT OPERATING AREAS
Before flying above 400ft within controlled airspace or within 3 nautical miles of an aerodrome, the operator of a model aircraft must obtain permission from the appropriate air traffic control service or CASA as appropriate"
@Christoph,
I believe that all of the DJI Phantom manuals are on-line videos on their website. In all of the reviews that I have read, I do not recall any of the reviews mentioning any kind of safety statements on use of the Phantom. However, that does not mean that they do not exist.
TCIII ArduRover2 Developer
I don't have a phantom but from my experienc with these "toys", all of them come with some sort of "manual". And every single one of them that came through my hands (parkflyer, rc-helicopter, trainer-kits,....) stated one thing clearly that you should not fly over people.
Is RTFM realy so hard?
Is it so hard to use common sense?
Every time i show up with a quadcopter or fpv equipment at my rc-club i sooner or later end up talking about one of these incidents and about reckless behaviour.
Where i then have to explain people that there is a majority of us (multirotor and/or fpv pilots) that consider their actions and watch for safety. Because even if you take precautions theres allways something that can go wrong, no matter if its a rc-craft, a stove, a car or wahtever else.
So lets all try to use our brains and be good examples.
greets, Christoph
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