Drone video of a boat running aground.

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

AWWW I would go park my unmarked car at the boat ramp and observe some of the most ridiculous stuff, the best was a guy who backed a brand new truck into the water, completely because he was going way too fast and hit weeds, I watched as the horn started blowing and wipers came on, salt water does that to electrical circuits, and his comment at the end when he was being towed out was that he wished his wife was driving so he could blame her for it . I hope he was kidding.
Another was a sail boat being towed from the ramp with the mast up, that was until it hit the trees, and a guy who backed with his lower unit down breaking the skeg off of it , I nearly died laughing , not because he broke the skeg but because he picked up the broken part walked over to the damaged lower unit and put the piece back up where it came from holding it there and staring at it for the longest time, as if to say how did that happen? So boat ramps can be fun.

 

[Zarrella]

One of my favorite lunchtime spots to hang out at.

 

[njmr2fan]

@haknslash

Good analogy!

 

[swatski]

Still I think the public needs to be better educated as to what the appropriate response is. Drones are protected as if they were full scale aircraft under the faa. They penalty for interfering with such a craft in flight can be very steep.

Are you saying that an aircraft flying at will, not in distress, into an urban zone would somehow be protected? I don't pay much attention to this drone nonsense, but I certainly hope that a drone flying 10 ft from my nose is not in a protected zone.

EDIT: "Flying a drone in a reckless manner is a violation of Federal law and FAA regulations and could result in civil fines or criminal action."

 

[Ronnie]

I'm not saying that at all. Just repeating what I've read. Here is a link to one article which touches on what can happen if you take the law into your own hands where drones are concerned.

http://gizmodo.com/is-it-ok-to-shoot-down-your-neighbors-drone-1718055028

Theoretically, If the fisherman in the video would have brought that drone down he would likely have been liable for the cost to repair or replace the drone and subject to the faa's wrath as well. A phantom 4 retails for over $1,200 the FAA penalties include up to $250k in fines and/or 20 years in prison. Talk about adding insult to injury, especially if the fisherman was just a passenger not the owner of the boat.

 

[4x15mph]

Not a fan of this kind of invasion of privacy. I wasted 2 minutes since the reason I watched this was to see the drone get taken down. Disappointed

On to better things.... 4x 400 engines? Holy $&%(#

 

[haknslash]

If the government wasn't so stupid and slow, they would have already created drone specific laws and regulations as opposed to being the lazy asses they are and just lumped drones into the aircraft category of laws. It's only a matter of time before something tips the scales and forces the gubberment to get off their ass and write an actual set of laws and regulations for these drones. The fact you have to get a real pilots license (as in real seat time hours in a real aircraft) to "legally' commercially sell drone footage is total BS and just shows how flawed the system is. Imagine if they treated RC cars the same as a real car and someone straps a camera on it and follows you around. You get pissed, stomp it and now you're charged with some federal crime. Come on....

To me some drone pilots use these as leverage that they can spy on you and make you feel threatened or uncomfortable but you can't do anything to them or they'll run to the cops and bring on the charges. The system is completely flawed and it favors drone pilots more than it does the innocent people minding their own business.

As someone who is also a photographer, I'd never point my lens directly at a family and just sit there taking pictures or filming video of them without their consent. It's creepy and disrespectful. The problem with drones is the operator is often mentally disconnected from reality meaning that they normally wouldn't shoot pictures 10 feet from a family on foot but they don't have an issue hiding far away while getting within 10 feet with a drone. The filter for seeing the wrong in it simply does to exist when you're piloting with goggles or a iPad.

This rant is not to say I don't like drones. They are cool and we even have a small one we play around with inside the house. But there are a lot of drones out there now that they can be had for little money and some pilots think that gives them the ability to become a virtual peeping Tom and that's ok without any ramifications. It's not but unfortunately the laws aren't in favor of things being equal for both sides. It's only going to result in someone getting assaulted....or worse..,in this crazy world we live in. All I know is if some drone comes hovering near my 6 year old daughter you best believe I'm going to take that thing down and probably be content with going to jail from beating the snot out of some creep that for all I know could be selling the footage to some pedophile website.

 

[swatski]

Some drone enthusiasts love to throw this hand grenade into the notion of reality - that somehow those little pleasure quadcopter models are protected under federal law.

Utter nonsense.

 

[su laxplayer21]

If the government wasn't so stupid and slow, they would have already created drone specific laws and regulations as opposed to being the lazy asses they are and just lumped drones into the aircraft category of laws. It's only a matter of time before something tips the scales and forces the gubberment to get off their ass and write an actual set of laws and regulations for these drones. The fact you have to get a real pilots license (as in real seat time hours in a real aircraft) to "legally' commercially sell drone footage is total BS and just shows how flawed the system is. Imagine if they treated RC cars the same as a real car and someone straps a camera on it and follows you around. You get pissed, stomp it and now you're charged with some federal crime. Come on....

To me some drone pilots use these as leverage that they can spy on you and make you feel threatened or uncomfortable but you can't do anything to them or they'll run to the cops and bring on the charges. The system is completely flawed and it favors drone pilots more than it does the innocent people minding their own business.

As someone who is also a photographer, I'd never point my lens directly at a family and just sit there taking pictures or filming video of them without their consent. It's creepy and disrespectful. The problem with drones is the operator is often mentally disconnected from reality meaning that they normally wouldn't shoot pictures 10 feet from a family on foot but they don't have an issue hiding far away while getting within 10 feet with a drone. The filter for seeing the wrong in it simply does to exist when you're piloting with goggles or a iPad.

This rant is not to say I don't like drones. They are cool and we even have a small one we play around with inside the house. But there are a lot of drones out there now that they can be had for little money and some pilots think that gives them the ability to become a virtual peeping Tom and that's ok without any ramifications. It's not but unfortunately the laws aren't in favor of things being equal for both sides. It's only going to result in someone getting assaulted....or worse..,in this crazy world we live in. All I know is if some drone comes hovering near my 6 year old daughter you best believe I'm going to take that thing down and probably be content with going to jail from beating the snot out of some creep that for all I know could be selling the footage to some pedophile website.

I am with you on all of this! That drone pilot was taunting them plain and simple. He closed the distance between them making it unsafe, what if he had lost control or lost signal while near them? If I were on that boat and had that thing within 20ft of my family while we were in distress... you bet your ass I would smash that thing out of the sky if I had the opportunity. Most likely it was a sandy bottom the boater hit, but it could have been rocks and he could have been taking on water. My explanation to the police and to the court would be simple. I felt threatened and feared for the safety of myself and everyone on board while in distress. The operator was flying illegally (drone operation has to be done within the pilots line of sight) based on newly released FAA rules. And in those same rules you no longer need a real pilot license to fly them commercially (before you did which is insane!) I think all you need to do is register and pass an exam.

 

[swatski]

I think a view that these recreational (not commercial) models enjoy federal law protections mandated for regular aircraft is... farcical? The FAA is no friend of the recreational drone community and the newly released FAA rules are clearly intended to stem the dangers of drones to public.

 

[Ronnie]

The attorney referenced in the article I provided a link to is citing the u.s. Code. That is federal law. Additionally, all U.s drone operators with drones over .5 lbs must register with the faa so they are subject to the rules and protections of the such laws.

I'm a long time drone/Rc enthusiast and attorney but I'm not throwing hand grenades anywhere. i think what the subject operator did was rude and inconsiderate. When I went to post this on the phantom aore I found that the thread was closed because the OP didn't respond to any subsequent posts for 6 days where even the moderators were telling him he was in the wrong. I also found that after reading all the responses over 6 pages that closer to 90 or 95% were against the OP. Although I can't post on the phantom site I can and may leave one on you tube and encourage anyone to do the same as the OP was wondering how boaters not just drone operators felt about what he had done.

Lastly, I reiterate that if you are ever in a position to take down a drone / quad copter in flight take a moment to think about it first, is the juice worth the squeeze?

 

[Ancient canoe]

What differentiates a drone from rc? Is drone just a cooler way of saying remote control helicotpor?

 

[su laxplayer21]

What differentiates a drone from rc? Is drone just a cooler way of saying remote control helicotpor?

I think drone implies it's abilities to fly autonomously, without inputs from the pilot. Where as the RC is always under control of the pilot.

 

[swatski]

"Drones are protected as if they were full scale aircraft under the faa. They penalty for interfering with such a craft in flight can be very steep."
"the FAA penalties include up to $250k in fines and/or 20 years in prison."

@Ronnie I'm sure those statements are technically correct. But I am even more sure no one will ever be federally prosecuted for casting a fishing lure at a flying toy, while boating. And we are not talking about shooting down a commercial drone here but a jackass flying his little toy into faces of people in distress.

 

[Julian]

I think we can all safely agree that:

1. The drone operator was an idiot/rude for flying so close
2. The boat occupant that attempted to take down the drone was an idiot for attempted destruction of personal property (its not like he could run away either!)-that "toy" could have cost him damages in the neighborhood of $1-3,000 dollars! Now that boat owner probably filled that boat up with that much gas in the morning....so perhaps he didn't care???

 

[MrMoose]

That's the problem with the world that we live in today. People prefer to look to the legal system to enable them to do things that they should know better to do in the first place. It's common sense for most of us.

 

[Ronnie]

A drone is an autonomous vehicle. One that can for the most part take off, fly and land on its own. From that perspective there are few true recreational drones. Even the newer phantoms are just rc helicopters with cameras unless and until the more advanced features, like auto take off, route and land, are enabled. The media has been using the terms interchangeably for years, I think it's because drone has a different more sinister connotation associated with it.

 

[Ronnie]

http://www.hamplaw.com/lake-havasu-drone-attacker-gets-deferred-prosecution/

Not federal but I doubt that a federal prosecution is far behind. all it would take is for a person on federal land who feels his or her privacy is violated to take down a drone and the drone injure someone on the way down.