Drones. Remember when I said I was irritated as hell, not "panicked" ? Here's why...

[Hekate]

I’ve now heard twice, last night and this morning, about a water-dropping plane getting hit by a drone. The plane now has a hole in its wing and is grounded until it can be repaired. There’s several links, including this one.

?si=E6pYRq1i3QIC9N98

Tens of thousands of acres have burned in the most packed urban area in the US, with no end in sight. Water-dropping aircraft have flown in from Canada to supplement California’s efforts as part of mutual-aid arrangements. https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219889074

And some pea-brained hobbyist thinks now is the time to send up his drone. I hope law enforcement tracks him down and throws the book at him.

[Jim__]

1. They're going to have to implement some strict regulations with strict enforcement on ...

... on when and where drones can be flown.

[Blue_Tires]

12. +1

[CrispyQ]

2. I read earlier that 12 months in prison & a $75K fine could be the maximum for interference in a wildfire operation.

Should be more.

[Hekate]

4. It will have more effect when the criminals in question get their arrests & convictions publicized

[ReRe]

19. Believe you me

Their identity will be televised. As will their trial.

[xocetaceans]

3. Here is one source that actually has the image of the wing damage to the plane.

Denys Davydov also presents a daily briefing on the situation in Ukraine:

&t=497s

[Hekate]

5. Thanks

[xocetaceans]

23. You're welcome. n/t

[hlthe2b]

6. I was angrily told by a DUer (after detailing Colorado's major issues with them) that it was his livelihood and

no one was ever harmed by a drone in any way... This only a few weeks ago....

This isn't the first time wildfire response has been adversely impacted and that is just the beginning of problems with the near absence of regulations for drones. And that doesn't start on major issues for Colorado with the non-commercial use of drones to hassle and harass endangered wildlife (and yes, that is illegal and those people can be fined and/or prosecuted by CO-Wildlife officials).

[Hekate]

7. When they went on the market as clever toys for hobbyists my first thought was about regulations

If we all had brains and common sense, we wouldn’t need drivers’ licenses and traffic regulations for motor vehicles on our roads, either. And yet, we do.

My opinion of humans as individuals is often high — my opinion of human behavior in the aggregate is very often low.

[Callie1979]

10. Yet we keep hearing about "personal air taxis" coming soon.

Just imagine the carnage.

[lavoosh99]

15. Flying Cars?

I'm fairly certain that flying cars will never exist except, maybe, as experiments. Just consider the thousands of idiots, assholes, and lunatics on the highways who can barely function in two dimensions and then give them the option of going up and down. Also consider how many drivers who are unwilling to obey even the simplest of traffic laws. And let's not even think about "fly by" shootings.

[Callie1979]

22. Here they are:

https://www.iotworldtoday.com/flying-vehicles/flying-vehicles-getting-ready-for-2024-deliveries

[Callie1979]

9. You can make a living using drones but also NOT being a dick.

I know a guy who uses them to take real estate videos. If he ever flies above a certain height he calls the local FAA office for the times planes will be in the area.
Usually he just does residential & commercial but if he's doing large AG tracts he has to go several 100ft high

[LeftInTX]

18. There are "no fly zones" for drones. I think in this emergency in LA, they may have forgotten to implement an

expanded one, especially since these are low flying planes, which are not on flight paths.


UAS Facility Maps
UAS Facility Maps show the maximum altitudes around airports where the FAA may authorize part 107 UAS operations without additional safety analysis. The maps should be used to inform requests for part 107 airspace authorizations and waivers in controlled airspace.

NOTE: These maps DO NOT authorize operations in these areas at the depicted altitudes – they are for informational purposes ONLY. Operators must still apply to operate in controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, or surface area E) by completing a Part 107 Airspace Authorization request in LAANC or the FAADroneZone, or a Waiver Application in the FAADroneZone.

Individuals who request a part 107 airspace waiver and authorization are encouraged to consult the maps prior to submitting a request to determine locations and altitudes that can be approved quickly.
Here is the FAA map:
https://faa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9c2e4406710048e19806ebf6a06754ad

Here are LA's restrictions, it doesn't include Pacific Palisades.

[hlthe2b]

21. And those were not available over western wildfire regions EITHER until recent years and Colorado was a BIG

reason WHY. They created those no-fly zones to protect governmental protectees, urban corridors (against terrorist threats), and infrastructure. Until Colorado likewise had to ground those precious air drops of flame retardants and water (over a year of wildfires--or within a year or two of when (unfortunately) firefighters died) due to drone interference, FAA did NOT include wilderness areas or backcountry in those zones. Not only Colorado was impacted, mind you, that was a year (among several) when it seemed the entire West was on fire. At the time both commercial (especially, but not limited to news drones) and hobbyist drones thought nothing of interfering with the combatting of wildfires because they wanted to post their videos and they had no other priority but to get it first.

[3Hotdogs]

8. Probably some jerkoff, getting his video for hits on Youtube or

selling to the local news outlet.


Lets hope that at least, his drone was destroyed.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. More than likely. I hope that they catch them and if the drones are damaged, and fall to the ground, I hope that some-

one salvages them, gets the registration numbers and whatever off the drones, and go after these people Don't they know the dangers they are posing to aircraft and others in that same airspace? Idiots. I do think in this world of getting your 15 minutes of fame, they don't care about consequences, and only care about getting that critical piece of footage to sell.

[Trueblue1968]

11. Lock up the drone person

[AllaN01Bear]

14. this.

https://www.thedroneu.com/blog/usa-drone-laws-regulations-by-state/
website : drone.

https://pilotinstitute.com/drones/
website : pilot institude .
any drone captain who flys for hire in the usa must have a commericial drone license no matter what size the drone is .
friend had to do this for his buisness. yea, i hope they throw the book at these .

[Bev54]

16. This is one of the Canadian Bombers

From Quebec. We also need to know our equipment and personnel are safe from the stupid.

[SergeStorms]

17. The national bird of the United States of America.

Like everything else in this country, people will cry and complain about their "rights" being infringed upon. Gun owners, religious zealots, and every other right-wing nut in this country love to vociferously complain about how aggrieved and persecuted they are. Of course they're just as vociferous when it comes to denying rights to people they hate.

We need to pass laws that anyone desiring to use drones needs to be licensed by taking prescribed educational courses, and registered. If they want to play with their toys they should file a flight plan, the same as any pilot, that permits them to fly and record video only within their flight plan's described path. Emergency conditions could be provided for.

THIS SHIT HAS TO STOP!

[ReRe]

20. How did they capture the drone?

Was the drone stuck in that hole we see in the photo?
I swear, Hekate, this country seems to be getting stupider and stupider.
What kind of an idiot would think of putting up a drone with everything burning down around them?