Idiot arrested for flying drone over wildfire

[Maddog]

Man formally charged for flying drone over Prescott wildfire
Some people just don't get it.

DRONE USED IN PRISON BREAKOUT?

Escaped inmate may have used wire cutters delivered by drone

 

[so low still grounded]

It's the firefighters that dont get it. The use of drones to survey a wildfire and its progression and direction could save time and get desired results quicker. Even save lives. Why aren't they using them? BTW if the drone is above the fire how is it the fire in the image is on the horizon? Always obey the laws absolutely but I know from experience how governments distort truth for their own agendas. I fought in wars in Africa testing state of the art killing equipment. Never trusted them after that and never will. Not even worth my spit.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

It's the firefighters that dont get it. The use of drones to survey a wildfire and its progression and direction could save time and get desired results quicker. Even save lives. Why aren't they using them?.

They do use them. This guy was not a firefighter, not surveying the scene working with firefighters, etc. He was flying in the immediate proximity of firefighting aircraft, which is the problem. Nobody is worried about the drone damaging a tree or a truck. It's the firefighting helicopters and planes.

 

[Joe Horn]

Pedals is right. Here in SoCal, the water-dumping helicopters and water-scooping airplanes must fly low and fast from the lakes and reservoirs directly to the fires and back again, even below the usual 500 foot "floor", because every second counts. They do use drones and an advanced volunteer lookout system, all precisely coordinated, to keep track of the fire(s) and to direct the firefighters in real time. If anybody outside of that fine-tuned system throws a monkey wrench into it by interfering in any way, they are endangering property and lives whether they intend to or not. Merely destroying a rogue drone is a slap on the wrist compared to what they really deserve for such wanton disregard of others.

I was very strongly tempted to fly my Solo near some local fires last summer! What great video it would make! But as I wrestled with the idea, knowing full well that it would be stupid and irresponsible, a chopper suddenly flew RIGHT over my head at break-neck speed, no more than 100 feet above me. Knocked the wind out of me. There's no way I could've seen or heard it coming, or gotten the Solo out of its way had I been flying it. There have been more fires since then, but no more temptations for me. At least in this regard.

 

[firenrescue]

Its irresponsible to fly in any area were firefighters and equipment and aircraft are. Drones are placed in the airspace and and coordinated though very strict system that should not have outside interference from other aircraft.

 

[pyrate]

don't need the government to skew anything here
it is just flat irresponsible period

 

[so low still grounded]

sure as I said obey the rules. I always do because the rules protect everyone and when you break them you are being selfish and put your personal interests above the safety of others, which is inexcusable. what I am saying is drones NEED to be managed by the governments and so as time will tell ...so HOW do they manage things. Through fear and manipulation. That’s how they work. It’s a matter of time soon we see fabricated nonsense about a drone caused the moon to wobble and many many idiots out there will believe what they see on the news. Private Drones are going to be targeted it’s a matter of time. It is what it is.

 

[KDan]

sure as I said obey the rules. I always do because the rules protect everyone and when you break them you are being selfish and put your personal interests above the safety of others, which is inexcusable. what I am saying is drones NEED to be managed by the governments and so as time will tell ...so HOW do they manage things. Through fear and manipulation. That’s how they work. It’s a matter of time soon we see fabricated nonsense about a drone caused the moon to wobble and many many idiots out there will believe what they see on the news. Private Drones are going to be targeted it’s a matter of time. It is what it is.

There are real safety concerns, but you have valid points also. Drones are disruptive technology. From some viewpoints that is good, from others it is bad. If a person or group has a vested interest in doing things a certain way, they are often not open to new approaches that threaten their status-quo. They will petition government and law-enforcement to target (through fear and negative publicity) what they perceive as competition or an intruder into their domain.
Drone technology is still new, and most people resist change - especially when it threatens their established ways of doing things. Acceptance will come - but not overnight. It will be a gradual process.

Rubber-necking with a drone is clearly a danger to firefighters, etc. All aircraft flying under those conditions need to be coordinated. But claiming that firefighters needed to be grounded for an hour is clearly a lie and a distortion. A nearby flock of birds would be equally dangerous. Would they ground all their firefighting aircraft for any hour for a flock of birds? Of course not.

 

[Maddog]

In Arizona, there is a fixed wing plane circling overhead to monitor the fires progress and to direct air traffic. It is known on the radio as "air attack".
No need for drones with their limited battery time when an airplane can circle for hours.
This guy had more footage than what was released to the media. At one point he was flying a few hundred feet from a tanker at the same altitude.

 

[SPP]

Holy cow !!, 3 of DC-10 as the tanker, it fly as low as 250 feet to disperse those orange powder.

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KDan,
I think if there are so many aircrafts and 3 as big as DC-10 plus all other small fixed wing and choppers, I won't be surprised they got grounded for an hour. Coordinating all these aircrafts and in low foggy visibility, I am sure the chief coordinator in command would be extra careful.

 

[KDan]

I am in no way advocating flying a drone in the vicinity of low-flying manned aircraft. Although the danger of a mid-air collision is low, it is still a totally unnecessary risk.
What I am commenting on is how *some* (not all) operators of full sized aircraft view drones in general as an infringement into their domain. They will go out of their way to exaggerate the proximity of drone sightings and will actively seek out media outlets to tell their "story". Then the news media - being the bunch of weasels that they are these days - will exaggerate the story even more. This creates a very bad (and undeserved) negative perception of drones by the general public.

 

[so low still grounded]

KDan exactly my point. When reel is being sold as real, you being entertained not informed.

 

[Maddog]

I am in no way advocating flying a drone in the vicinity of low-flying manned aircraft. Although the danger of a mid-air collision is low, it is still a totally unnecessary risk.
What I am commenting on is how *some* (not all) operators of full sized aircraft view drones in general as an infringement into their domain. They will go out of their way to exaggerate the proximity of drone sightings and will actively seek out media outlets to tell their "story". Then the news media - being the bunch of weasels that they are these days - will exaggerate the story even more. This creates a very bad (and undeserved) negative perception of drones by the general public.

Some time ago, the American Modelers Association (AMA) went through a list of "drone sightings" reported to the FAA.
They discovered that anytime a pilot reported sighting an unknown object, the FAA tallied it as a drone sighting. They also included sightings of military drones, such as Predator, etc.

Like they say, "liars figure and figures lie".

 

[Doug Anderson]

The TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) in place during a fire or for other reasons is for the safety of all. Please, let's all stay clear. The altitudes of the fire-fighting helicopter I flew ranged from zero at the water source to maybe a few hundred feet between the water source to the fire.

 

[so low still grounded]

I haven’t had my drone long but The big picture I am getting is when sh*t happens blame the drones.

Like that nonsense about a plane from Mozambique getting damaged from a drone most likely from a cluts driving disembark steps into it
Or that guy escaping from prison …..newspapers make stuff up as they go along these days.


Apparently Authorities were fooled because his drone was disguised as a flock of pigeons and his controller as a bag of pop-corn
so thought nothing of it when he kept looking in the sky hours on end. Just how much junk can you fly in on a drone for goodness sake

 

[JimB13]

From my reading of this thread, it started with an actual, dangerous situation in which a person was flying a drone over an active wildfire with planes involved. There was also a link to an article in a paper with an assumption of a drone delivering wire cutters to a prison inmate. Several people used the wildfire flight to claim it was the people working the fire which overreacted. When the reality of that risk was fully defined, the posts then started responding to the media report of a drone allegedly delivering wire cutters.

Lets get things straight. The government does overreact with restrictions at times. But it is idiots like the person flying the drone over the wildfire which cause that overreaction more than the media allegations of a drone allegedly delivering wire cutters.

As responsible drone pilots we must NOT do stupid things, such as fly over wildfires, fly into airspace which can potentially contain aircraft (they move rather quickly by the way), flying over large crowds at low altitudes, and other STUPID things. If we do not do that, and other drone pilots do not, then we might be able to avoid over regulation. If we attempt to defend such stupidity in actual situations through the defense that the media over exagerates other reports, then that is just down right silly.

Sorry, just wanted to add my two cents.

 

[Maddog]

From my reading of this thread, it started with an actual, dangerous situation in which a person was flying a drone over an active wildfire with planes involved. There was also a link to an article in a paper with an assumption of a drone delivering wire cutters to a prison inmate. Several people used the wildfire flight to claim it was the people working the fire which overreacted. When the reality of that risk was fully defined, the posts then started responding to the media report of a drone allegedly delivering wire cutters.

Lets get things straight. The government does overreact with restrictions at times. But it is idiots like the person flying the drone over the wildfire which cause that overreaction more than the media allegations of a drone allegedly delivering wire cutters.

As responsible drone pilots we must NOT do stupid things, such as fly over wildfires, fly into airspace which can potentially contain aircraft (they move rather quickly by the way), flying over large crowds at low altitudes, and other STUPID things. If we do not do that, and other drone pilots do not, then we might be able to avoid over regulation. If we attempt to defend such stupidity in actual situations through the defense that the media over exagerates other reports, then that is just down right silly.

Sorry, just wanted to add my two cents.

You are right on point- don't do stupid things with drones. Unfortunately the human gene pool is overflowing with stupid and it seems to be getting worse. If we could just drain that pool, we might have a fighting chance.