A drone collided with one of the only Super Scooper planes fighting the LA wildfires, grounding a key resource
A drone collided with one of the only Super Scooper planes fighting the LA wildfires, grounding a key resource
The aircraft, named the Quebec 1, struck the drone at around 1 p.m. Thursday and has been grounded.
Summary
A drone collision grounded one of two Super Scooper planes battling Los Angeles wildfires, leaving a critical resource unavailable.
The collision damaged the aircraft's wing, forcing its grounding, and temporarily paused other firefighting flights, creating significant delays.
The FAA emphasized the dangers of flying drones near wildfires, noting it’s a federal crime with penalties up to $75,000 and prison time.
Over 36,000 acres have burned, with officials warning that delays in air support allow wildfires to spread rapidly, endangering lives and property.
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This is a serious bummer all around. But wow, does that article suck on its lack of detail. But I guess actually digging into the facts wouldn't make for clickable headlines. "Oooooh, DRONES!"
- There are Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in place for that region.
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Was the drone part of monitoring/firefighting efforts? If it was, that is a terrible error on the part of the sUAS operator and observer. Then again, smoke and fire, which would make for a less interesting story. "Drone participating in firefighting hits plane." Editor: Boooring! Let's make it vague so we can cash in on some drone fears.
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Lots of drones won't even fly in a TFR zone. More professional drones will warn the pilot AND provide a warning about planes in proximity.
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All sUAS 250 grams and larger are required to have RemoteID. Plenty of drones won't even fly unless the RemoteID is functioning fully. And if it shits the bed during flight, lots of drones will just automatically land. Again, except for more professional models or for small cheapies. So one of two things are true: the FAA knows exactly who the responsible party is, or the operator is an utter douchecanoe
Lots of drones won't even fly in a TFR zone.
That's why I build 'em myself. I have enough common sense to police myself, I don't need a nanny drone telling me what I can do.
For anyone interested, it's super easy these days with modular parts and widely available open source flight controller hardware/software.
Keep it under 250 grams, and you don't even have to register it with the FAA.
Edit: this does not imply I don't follow the rules.
Based on this article, that makes you the asshole in this scenario. TFRs exist for a very good reason, it's not just big guberment trying to make your life harder.
Don't worry, he'll "police himself".
I never said I don't respect TFRs and regulations. A couple of my drones are over the 250 gram limit, and have a big fat sticker on them with the registration number, as well as a remoteID transmitter. I'm not stupid. It's just that a piece of machinery enforcing something on me rubs me the wrong way.
Believe it or not, it is totally possible for some people to respect rules put in place to keep everyone safe and not have to be forced to do it. To me, it's like driving a car that applies the brakes automatically every time it sees a red light, overriding whatever decision you have made. I don't want to live in that kind of world, sorry. If someone needs their toaster to lock itself every time there's no bread in it just so they won't accidentally stick their fingers in it and electrocute themselves, that's not my fault.
What if your self police don't have the most up to date news that would've been enforced via the transmitter?
If you knew what you were doing you'd stfu. Idiots copy people and don't know what they're doing. All your post seems to say is you're a braggart and probably part of the problem.
You know there are publically available maps you can check before a flight, right?
Which I'm sure you're doing before every single flight, right?
To me, it's like driving a car that applies the brakes automatically every time it sees a red light, overriding whatever decision you have made.
This is such an incredibly stupid analogy...especially when there's a DIRECT analogy with vehicles.
You have to register "powerful" vehicles with the government and you need a license to drive them. Like your kid's Power Wheels car (cheap drone) doesn't need to be registered. Your golf cart (racing quad) probably doesn't but a sedan (55lb+ quad) does. If you want to drive a semi (long range/commercial/whatever), you need a special license, too.
It turns out if you want to use a dangerous device in public, the government wants to know about it....you know, to help avoid flying their dangerous devices into the wing of a disaster relief plane
You have to register "powerful" vehicles with the government and you need a license to drive them. Like your kid's Power Wheels car (cheap drone) doesn't need to be registered.
They guy you are responding to mentioned:
- Building drones under the 250 gram limit (analagous to building your own toy power wheels car that’s too small to be regulated)
- Building drones over the 250 gram limit and registering them and following the relevant rules (analagous in your example to having some sort of hobby project car and going through the proper channels to get it certified as street legal).
Seriously what’s wrong with someone having a hobby?
I have 3 sub-250 quads, I think it's a really cool hobby
How do you explain ultralight aircraft not needing to be registered and their operation licensed, per FAR-103?
If I had to guess? Risk of killing someone other than yourself. They're the go karts of planes
So a >250 gram drone is a credible threat, but a <250 lbs ultralight is not, simply because it's presumed the pilot of the ultralight will die in whatever event occurs. Right...
You guys all don't seem to get the idea. I have no problem registering my shit and complying with safety regulations. I do when the vehicle itself enforces it. I have heard of no plane that will override a pilot decision because it thinks some aviation rule is being violated.
I guess some people's point is that if the automated restrictions that come with those aren't used maliciously or commonly problematic, it shouldn't really be a big deal for it to exist. In fact, that they do exist is probably a good thing because it prevents amateurs from making potentially hazardous mistakes, given there really aren't any other controls on who can operate them.
From the sound of your initial post, it sounded like you were primarily building your own to evade these automated restrictions, but I'm going to assume you're more of an enthusiast and just don't add those features to what you build, and you build things for that intrinsic joy and customizability. If true, I think given your level of familiarity and expertise, that feels generally reasonable.
Yeah no way in hell I'd ever do something as stupid as fly in a TFR. Everything I do is in order, legally.