Drone Crashes At Movie Premier, Injures Baby

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Who wants to bet more drone rules will be put in place after this? Thankfully the baby wasn't seriously injured during the incident.

A falling drone cut and bruised an 11-month-old girl in a stroller at an event Saturday, according to the Pasadena Police Department. Police said a 24-year-old man lost control of his DJI Inspire 1, a camera-carrying quadcopter costing nearly $3,000, causing it to crash to the ground outside of City Hall during a movie screening.
 
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We certainly needs some rules to differentiate between hobby/toy drones and larger professional drones.

A recent Mythbusters episode confirmed that theoretically a larger drone could cut through to someone's jugular.

Toy drones are just toys. I have one that stings really bad if it buzzes your skin, but is ultimately harmless. We've all been buzzed by it in my small apartment. But the thing about flying it in the apartment is that the only people put at risk are me and my family, who are all (more or less) consenting to the risk.

To be outside flying over large crowds should have some kind of regulation, or at least consequence for when crap like this happens. Risk of serious injury or death is incredibly small, so it's hard to say whether there should be licensing or permitting requirements or whether we go the classic American route of just suing people when they screw up. But we really should be making these decisions based on which will be cheaper and balancing the protection of innocent people from rogue drones vs restricting freedoms from a very large group of people who would use their drone responsibly.
 
d_stilgar said:
We certainly needs some rules to differentiate between hobby/toy drones and larger professional drones.

A recent Mythbusters episode confirmed that theoretically a larger drone could cut through to someone's jugular.

Toy drones are just toys. I have one that stings really bad if it buzzes your skin, but is ultimately harmless. We've all been buzzed by it in my small apartment. But the thing about flying it in the apartment is that the only people put at risk are me and my family, who are all (more or less) consenting to the risk.

To be outside flying over large crowds should have some kind of regulation, or at least consequence for when crap like this happens. Risk of serious injury or death is incredibly small, so it's hard to say whether there should be licensing or permitting requirements or whether we go the classic American route of just suing people when they screw up. But we really should be making these decisions based on which will be cheaper and balancing the protection of innocent people from rogue drones vs restricting freedoms from a very large group of people who would use their drone responsibly.
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People *HAVE* been killed by drones before. See : http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/09/05/man-killed-while-operating-remote-controlled-helicopter/

There is no such thing as a toy drone.
 
Steve said:
Who wants to bet more drone rules will be put in lace after this? Thankfully the baby wasn't seriously injured during the incident.

A falling drone cut and bruised an 11-month-old girl in a stroller at an event Saturday, according to the Pasadena Police Department. Police said a 24-year-old man lost control of his DJI Inspire 1, a camera-carrying quadcopter costing nearly $3,000, causing it to crash to the ground outside of City Hall during a movie screening.
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In some states it is already mandatory to have remote aerial vehicle flight insurance. This was because people with R/C planes were putting large amounts of fuel on larger and larger aircraft that built up some serious speed.

Case in point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNQ1TrPHVg
 
You should not be able to fly a drone in public spaces over a mass of peoples' heads unless you've been authorized to do so by the law.

We need to define exactly what a drone is, what constitutes those exact qualifications, and how we arrived at those merits.

Either way:
Your right to pilot a drone anywhere and at any time ends when you fly it (in public places) over my head and i'm not aware you're doing so. Period.
 
How in the hell do you crash a DJI? Exhausted batteries had to be the cause.
 
damicatz said:
People *HAVE* been killed by drones before. See : http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/09/05/man-killed-while-operating-remote-controlled-helicopter/

There is no such thing as a toy drone.
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That's not a drone, that is a hobbyist RC gas operated helicopter meant to fly at very high speeds. Those things have serious blades that can slice off digits and scalp a person.

There's no doubt a drone can do serious damage, the $1K+ ones weight over 6lbs, having 6lbs dropped on you is not fun.
 
A rational approach, rather than a ban 'em all and get government approval (licensing) to fly 'em, would be better.

Lawsuits for injuries? Check. That should put a damper on that kind of stunt.

Allow property owners to shoot down drones over their houses/properties? Check. That'll stop the peeping Toms. (Kind of sucks to have your $2000 RC aircraft shot down by an irate neighbor with a single round of bird shot.) If you live in TPRof California, you may not be able to do that. Take it up with your governor.

There are already systems to keep dangerous public activities tamped down. They just have to be exercised.

Fly a drone in your home or over your property (or property over which you've been given permission to fly), then it's all good.

My .02.
 
For those saying that we don't need anymore laws and that no one owns airspace and a drone should be able to fly above your house if they choose.

The FAA does have laws about minimum flight altitudes. But there is a catch. Currently the law is that an airplane must be at least 500 feet up in "congested" areas, which are generally considered places where humans and structures are located.

However helicopters do fall under this same guideline, and there is no specific law governing minimum altitude for helicopters. And I guarantee you this is what all these drone pilots will claim they fall under.

But the point is, is that air space is very much governed and there are laws already about safety. These drone operators want to be respected, but to they want to follow the law?
 
c3k said:
Allow property owners to shoot down drones over their houses/properties? Check. That'll stop the peeping Toms. (Kind of sucks to have your $2000 RC aircraft shot down by an irate neighbor with a single round of bird shot.) If you live in TPRof California, you may not be able to do that. Take it up with your governor.
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There are already laws prohibiting you from buzzing someone's house Maverick style in a traditional aircraft. These same laws should be applied to drones.
 
You know why there are still small planes from 1972 in service? Because regulations on airworthiness are so insanely strict and expensive that these planes are basically rebuilt every single year, so they fly forever. Drones dont have any certification required in their construction do they?
 
NickJames said:
That's not a drone, that is a hobbyist RC gas operated helicopter meant to fly at very high speeds. Those things have serious blades that can slice off digits and scalp a person.

There's no doubt a drone can do serious damage, the $1K+ ones weight over 6lbs, having 6lbs dropped on you is not fun.
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Drone = RC with a new name.
 
INFINITE said:
How in the hell do you crash a DJI? Exhausted batteries had to be the cause.
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Because with GPS assisted flight controllers you aren't FORCED to learn how to actually fly the damn thing. The first little hiccup that comes along and these moron "pilots" have no idea how to handle their suddenly unstable flying blender.
 
People like that are what keep me up at night! Hey, I fly drones all the time (hell, I'm an enthusiast and I have dedicated a rather large portion of time supporting drones however like I say in my drone intro, (https://sites.google.com/site/bestdronesreview/) it's just a matter of time before some idiot comes and ruins all the fun for the other guys.

I never fly above anyone else, especially crowded places. When I go out, I make sure to go to empty parks and fly around where there is no danger. Is it perfect? Well, I suppose not but that's highly unlikely. The DJI Inspire one is supposed to be 'crash proof' (or at least as much as possible) so having it run into a BABY is beyond me.

Also, what were the parents doing ? Wouldn't you be aware of your surroundings enough to prevent a giant flying object from hitting your baby? Apparently the baby was hit by debris of the crash... that's a hell of a crash.

Anyhow, as it stands, I'm enjoying flying now because I know these people will force new (overly severe) rules to be established.
 
I think flying a drone somewhere should require express permission of the land owner. That way you can fly them over your land and in designated areas, but not over congested places crammed with people. The rules should also apply to human-operated RC helicopters and planes, there is little difference between a "drone" and an RC helicopter other than ease of use. Theoretically a real drone would be guided entirely by AI and we're a ways away from that right now.
 
killboy said:
Also, what were the parents doing ? Wouldn't you be aware of your surroundings enough to prevent a giant flying object from hitting your baby? Apparently the baby was hit by debris of the crash... that's a hell of a crash.
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Seriously...asking about the parents? What are they supposed to be doing, standing overwatch on the sky above?

Maybe I should start a new business, "My First Anti-Aircraft Battery". Strap it onto your stroller and auto-target and shoot down any drones above your precious child.
 
damicatz said:
Drone = RC with a new name.
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A drone is capable of autonomous control. If a drone leaves its users range of communication it is programmed to safetly land or go into a hover mode. RC heli's and planes are 100% user guided and controlled and require much more skill to handle than your typical walmart drone.
 
TwistedAegis said:
Seriously...asking about the parents? What are they supposed to be doing, standing overwatch on the sky above?

Maybe I should start a new business, "My First Anti-Aircraft Battery". Strap it onto your stroller and auto-target and shoot down any drones above your precious child.
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Whoa whoa, we're talking about an 11 month baby. I think we can find common ground between being over-protective and being close enough to the baby to prevent it from being harmed. What if it was a soccer ball? Or a frisbee?

(They were in a park), I bet a random frisbee or even a baseball from someone playing catch would cause more damage than drone debris.
 
The term 'drone' is just another noun that the media and uninformed public have accepted for any r/c aircraft. The same thing happened with 'assault rifle'.

Fly-aways happen, it sucks and it terrifying. Would be funny if they find out someone shot at the drone and that caused the crash lol.
 
killboy said:
Whoa whoa, we're talking about an 11 month baby. I think we can find common ground between being over-protective and being close enough to the baby to prevent it from being harmed. What if it was a soccer ball? Or a frisbee?

(They were in a park), I bet a random frisbee or even a baseball from someone playing catch would cause more damage than drone debris.
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The baby was hit by shrapnel from the crash. Do you really think the parents would have been able to shield that baby from all the pieces that flew from the crash? Seriously dude, stop trying to place blame on the parents on this.
 
Teenk9 said:
The baby was hit by shrapnel from the crash. Do you really think the parents would have been able to shield that baby from all the pieces that flew from the crash? Seriously dude, stop trying to place blame on the parents on this.
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Yea, but what was the baby wearing? She might have been asking for it.
 
Darunion said:
The term 'drone' is just another noun that the media and uninformed public have accepted for any r/c aircraft. The same thing happened with 'assault rifle'.

Fly-aways happen, it sucks and it terrifying. Would be funny if they find out someone shot at the drone and that caused the crash lol.
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DJI is known for their flyaways. It's been happening for years.
 
What's going to happen is A) someone's going to sue the drone manufacturers over a serious injury or death and/or B) someone's going to end up in a congressional hearing. Then the regulations will hit. That's typically how this ends up going.
 
Darunion said:
Yea, but what was the baby wearing? She might have been asking for it.
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Yeah I think the baby was wearing an anti-drone tshirt. Definitely asking for it.

no_drones_peace_love_you_dope_tshirt-rf3f247ec24a84df19ba95dfd607fac43_j2nhc_324.jpg
 
You should all know where this is going, because it's happened before. A device that any idiot can launch into the air, is extremely easy to lose control of, tends to be used outside in parks around children, and can cause injury or death. You know what that sounds like to me?

Lawn darts.
 
Dude should be charged, there's a responsibility with doing anything that can injure others
 
Koolthulu said:
Just ban the damn things already.
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So much in agreement. People aren't intelligent or responsible enough to own stuff like that so its the duty of the government to ban manufacturing, importing, or using them. People with radio controlled anything don't belong around crowds. They should be paying fines and rotting in prison for being selfish while endangering the well-being of the general public. Even if they don't hurt someone and have an accident-free flight, they should still at least be arrested and charged with like a traffic violation level ticketing thing. And it should be the responsibility of society at large to report these people to law enforcement so that they get into huge trouble just for owning one.
 
kattana said:
LOL.. that was awesome. I also like the SR71 model

and 8 jets on that thing.. that wasnt cheap
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Hey I thought it was gonna blow up and kill someone?? You said so.....you said drones kill people.....like this one....lol
 
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