What do you think of this drone/multi-rotor accident ? 30 days jail + 5K fine

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Guys,

Man comes forward after woman knocked out by drone - BBC News

Man convicted after out-of-control drone hits building, knocks woman unconscious during Seattle Pride Parade

City Attorney’s Office prevails in drone case

As a hobby multi-rotor flyer yourself, what is your opinion ?

For me if I were the pilot, I have to willingly plead guilty, because I did hurt someone in the process.

This kind of accidents is what made me NOT wanting to fly in a city, its just too risky for us on 2.4 GHZ and 5.8 GHZ flying in areas with so much potential interference. This is not yet considering potential software bugs or mechanical failure on our toys.

Thanks in advance for any comments.
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SPP said:
Guys,

Man comes forward after woman knocked out by drone - BBC News

Man convicted after out-of-control drone hits building, knocks woman unconscious during Seattle Pride Parade

City Attorney’s Office prevails in drone case

As a hobby multi-rotor flyer yourself, what is your opinion ?

For me if I were the pilot, I have to willingly plead guilty, because I did hurt someone in the process.

This kind of accidents is what made me NOT wanting to fly in a city, its just too risky for us on 2.4 GHZ and 5.8 GHZ flying in areas with so much potential interference. This is not yet considering potential software bugs or mechanical failure on our toys.

Thanks in advance for any comments.
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Like any case, it is about the facts...

I like the quote:
"Last month, the singer Enrique Iglesias fractured his hand onstage at a concert when he was hit by the blades of a camera-equipped drone that he had reached up to take hold of."

As if it was the drone's fault he was an idiot.
 
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I think it's very sobering story. RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT. JAIL TIME. Holy smoke. $5000 fine + record that could impair school, work or other opportunities. Flying over a crowd in downtown Seattle is foolish but punishment seems harsh to me. I am going to try and get more details from the court file. I wonder if the AMA or other drone liability insurance policies exclude coverage for acts deemed criminal like reckless endangerment as found here? This guys next problem may be a civil suit by the injured party...
 
Has he been sentenced yet? The articles refer to the maximum penalties, curious to see what he ends up with.
 
TBH I don't think he is going to get anywhere close to the max penalty if he has a clean record. I am assuming this is his first offense of this kind. You would most likely end up with a fine, informal probation, and possibly confiscation.

If there is a civil suit the AMA should cover it, that's what it's for anyways. Again I am assuming, but it appears no one was under the influence and this was an accident. Imagine your car insurance not covering the accident cause you were either speeding, ran stop sign/light, made an illegal lane change, or didn't have your lights on; your insurance would be useless.

I'll be honest, I fly in Los Angeles a lot, big bear over crowds, and over large crowds at private weddings. I always contact the appropriate agencies and make sure they are aware of it, in the city I also contact any nearby private facilities/organizations with helipads(you'd be surprised how many are out here) just in case they didn't get the memo. I have yet to ever be denied permission, before they have a chance to respond I tell them the altitude I will be at, which is usually under 250ft and I have liability insurance.

The people in these cases seem to not be very responsible at all. People like that mess it up and cause regulation for everyone else. Even if there weren't any rules common sense would have me notify any air traffic or people who's property or themselves could be damaged.
 
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TonySloth said:
If there is a civil suit the AMA should cover it, that's what it's for anyways.
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Highly unlikely. That flight was conducted well outside the AMA's established guidelines. It's been awhile since I read the details of their policy and I could be wrong. But I don't believe they cover you if you're doing what he did.
 
Pilot of drone that struck woman at Pride Parade gets 30 days in jail

Yes he convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail + $500 file. I would expect nothing less from the city of victims. The sentence is ludicrous. Every day, they let people walk out of court with no jail for robberies, weapons violations, assaults, thefts, drug dealing, DUI with injury accidents, etc. But give someone a bump on the head with a plastic toy by accident, they send you to jail to make an example out of you. It's absurd. He deserved to be caught and punished, but not like that.
 
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Pedals2Paddles said:
Pilot of drone that struck woman at Pride Parade gets 30 days in jail

Yes he convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail + $500 file. I would expect nothing less from the city of victims. The sentence is ludicrous. Every day, they let people walk out of court with no jail for robberies, weapons violations, assaults, thefts, drug dealing, DUI with injury accidents, etc. But give someone a bump on the head with a plastic toy by accident, they send you to jail to make an example out of you. It's absurd. He deserved to be caught and punished, but not like that.
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Wow, that's ridiculous. I don't understand the issue so many people have with "drones". A lot of people are ok with a mini 14 or ranch rifle, which uses the same magazines and ammunition as an AR 15, but dislike the idea of an AR, when both things can do equal damage. I think "drones" are getting such a bad rep because people that know nothing about them hear drone and think of Iraq Predator Drone strikes, so when they hear someone got hurt they want to make recreational flying illegal. It appears our "drones" are the new "assault rifle". People being irresponsible with their UAV are going to make their use impossible. These punishments will get worse and the offenses will be more benign. Recording video will probably become illegal due to privacy concerns.
 
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Pedals2Paddles said:
Just like with guns, the media knows what buzzwords sell mouse clicks to uninformed people who take their word for it....
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I could see the headlines now..

Fully Autopilot Assault Drones W/High Capacity Lithium Polymer Packs

Sounds scary to the uninformed wouldn't it?
 
Be interesting to see if it actually sticks.

"Skinner’s attorney said he will appeal the verdict. While pending, Skinner will not have to serve the 30 days in jail or pay the fine."

Pedals2Paddles said:
Pilot of drone that struck woman at Pride Parade gets 30 days in jail

Yes he convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail + $500 file. I would expect nothing less from the city of victims. The sentence is ludicrous. Every day, they let people walk out of court with no jail for robberies, weapons violations, assaults, thefts, drug dealing, DUI with injury accidents, etc. But give someone a bump on the head with a plastic toy by accident, they send you to jail to make an example out of you. It's absurd. He deserved to be caught and punished, but not like that.
Click to expand...
 
WA state law: "A person is guilty of reckless endangerment when he or she recklessly engages in conduct (other than drive-by shooting) that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person."

I am thinking that a homeowners insurance policy may cover a civil tort claim brought against the drone pilot despite the criminal conviction. My rationale is that insurance policies generally cover negligent and reckless misconduct that results in injury. If they did not, there would not be much point in buying insurance. The "criminal acts" exclusion in many motor vehicle and homeowners policies typically applies to intentional misconduct. So, for example, if motorist sped through a red light while looking down and texting on his smart phone and hits a pedestrian that should be covered by insurance even though it violates state and local laws and is massively foolish. In contrast, if the motorist intentionally stomped the gas pedal and sped through intersection specifically to try and mow down his ex-spouse (or whoever) in cross-walk, that would be a specific intent crime and insurance carriers would almost certainly deny coverage.

Another thing I have been thinking about is the application of the negligent entrustment doctrine to drones. If you allow someone to drive your car, or otherwise provide them with a car, and you either know or in the exercise of reasonable care should know the person has no training, has serious prior history of tickets and/or accidents, is impaired by drugs or alcohol, or has shown careless tendencies, you may be liable for any damage they cause. In the case at hand, the guy was an adult and was operating his own drone so its a non-issue. But, think about all those drones parents bought their kids over last few years and whether they can show reasonable efforts made to ensure proper training, supervision and use.

My hunch is that should there be a future flood off claims, the homeowners insurance companies may insert specific language excluding coverage for hobbyist drones. May be smart to review policy language with fine tooth comb.
 
TonySloth said:
TBH I don't think he is going to get anywhere close to the max penalty if he has a clean record. I am assuming this is his first offense of this kind. You would most likely end up with a fine, informal probation, and possibly confiscation.

If there is a civil suit the AMA should cover it, that's what it's for anyways. Again I am assuming, but it appears no one was under the influence and this was an accident. Imagine your car insurance not covering the accident cause you were either speeding, ran stop sign/light, made an illegal lane change, or didn't have your lights on; your insurance would be useless.

I'll be honest, I fly in Los Angeles a lot, big bear over crowds, and over large crowds at private weddings. I always contact the appropriate agencies and make sure they are aware of it, in the city I also contact any nearby private facilities/organizations with helipads(you'd be surprised how many are out here) just in case they didn't get the memo. I have yet to ever be denied permission, before they have a chance to respond I tell them the altitude I will be at, which is usually under 250ft and I have liability insurance.

The people in these cases seem to not be very responsible at all. People like that mess it up and cause regulation for everyone else. Even if there weren't any rules common sense would have me notify any air traffic or people who's property or themselves could be damaged.
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Tony...the FAA is particularly sensitive to your ops scenario as a commercial operator...they get real picky about flying over people...particularly with movie drones carrying Red cameras etc...20 pounds or more on the head is deadly.
 
TonySloth said:
I'll be honest, I fly in Los Angeles a lot, big bear over crowds, and over large crowds at private weddings. .
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Just out of curiosity, my insurance company has limited me to flying over groups of up to 25 people. If I fly over larger crowds and have an accident they cut me off. So you don't have a similar clause?
 
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