Enraged hawk smashes drone to the ground

[Liberal_in_LA]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass —

#t=20

Christopher Schmidt was flying his quadcopter around Magazine Beach Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he learned the hard way that his toy wasn't welcomed in the sky.

His copter, equipped with a GoPro camera, catches the moment a hawk launches toward his drone and knocks it from the air.

The camera continues to roll as the copter crashes to the ground.

The hawk likely wasn't thrilled with the drone in his territory and took it out.

- See more at: http://www.news965.com/news/news/national/enraged-hawk-smashes-drone-ground/nhgGP/?icmp=cmgcontent_internallink_relatedcontent_2014_partners2#sthash.IBCX1inM.dpuf

[hlthe2b]

1. Good for the hawk... n/t

[Liberalynn]

3. +1

[City Lights]

4. Yup. Go hawk! nt

[demigoddess]

76. agree with you,

+1

[Gore1FL]

20. Why? Vendetta against Radio-controlled hobbiests? n/t

[hlthe2b]

33. That's hawk airspace...

and when I see one nosing about my home to get info for some damned realtor or other nosybody, I will gladly invite in all the raptors I can find.

[Gore1FL]

60. RC aircraft are not inherently evil devices. n/t

[sulphurdunn]

68. Of course they aren't.

They're potentially very useful devices. It depends on who uses them and for what purposes. The current abuse of this technology for covert surveillance and war outweighs any social benefit for which it is now used.

[snooper2]

97. hawk airspace LOL

Who will think of the pigeons!

[louis-t]

2. Wow, there goes about $3,000.

Out the window.

[Warpy]

8. I'm impressed with that camera

It took a hell of a beating and kept on going. Likely the quadcopter can be salvaged and repaired.

[justiceischeap]

15. This is pretty much what GoPros were built for

Well, technically created for extreme sports but since have been used to do a lot of up-close wildlife photography. Lots of videos out there from GoPro showing their gear being mauled by wildlife and surviving.

[rhett o rick]

11. You can get some pretty nice drones for under $1000. nm

[dickthegrouch]

22. Google "quadcopter gopro"

The least expensive model shown on the first page is $154.90

[Atman]

86. $3000 for a GoPro drone? Are you serious?

I have a GoPro that I bought years ago at top price...$300. The drone is not very expensive, either. That is part of the problem. The technology is so cheap any asshole can buy one. They sure as hell don't cost $3000, unless you want to pay that much for one.

[mainer]

5. So are drones any real danger to airplanes

when a mere hawk can crash into it and fly away unharmed?

[Baitball Blogger]

7. I see a market for trained hawks.

[JHB]

41. Oooh! A rebirth of falconry!

It's not just for rabbit-hunting anymore!

[truebluegreen]

47. Puh-leese...

Any falconer worthy of the name flies a...falcon. Which doesn't/won't hunt rabbits.

[Maynar]

75. Is hawkery a thing?

[truebluegreen]

87. Nah. I was just making a funny.

[Scootaloo]

80. Falcons? Puh-leese yourself, Ashol-Pan shows you how it's REALLY done!

[truedelphi]

77. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^n/t

[Blue_Tires]

10. Definitely, if someone was stupid or malicious enough

to fly it near airport runways...

Because they do make them bigger than the one used in this story...

As for that hawk, well someone needs to call the Air Force and show that hawk who's boss Humanity didn't get to where it is over the course of 2.4 million years by letting wild critters push us around

[dickthegrouch]

21. Have you seen the damage a bird can do to a jet engine?

There is tremendous suction just in front of a jet engine and a bird is relatively soft and fragile. A drone is metal parts and wires, which, I'm guessing, would be far more destructive to a finely balanced jet engine than any feathers and bone.

I don't want to be anywhere close when some idiot tries this accidentally, or on purpose.

[valerief]

40. My father worked this crash for Pinkerton. He said he pulled an arm out of the water and nothing

was attached.

The greatest loss of life directly linked to a bird strike was on October 4, 1960, when a Lockheed L-188 Electra, flying from Boston as Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, flew through a flock of common starlings during take-off, damaging all four engines. The aircraft crashed into Boston harbor shortly after take-off, with 62 fatalities out of 72 passengers.[42] Subsequently, minimum bird ingestion standards for jet engines were developed by the FAA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike

[F4lconF16]

50. +1 to that

When you spin very hot metal at high rpm, things go badly ina hurry. A small pebble could trash an engine in a half of a second. A large drone could easily take out an engine.

Wondering when they're going to start regulating RC drones more. With the amount they're getting used now, I'm surprised I haven't heard of more legislation dealing with them.

Edits for typos. Stupid cracked phone screen

[Thor_MN]

55. RC Drones do not fly high enough, for the most part, to be a threat to general aviation

To be under RC control, you have to be able to see the drone, which means that other than near an airport, aircraft are going to be thousands of feet higher. Quadcopters and the like are much more limited in visual range than RC planes due to need to see how they are oriented. RC planes have to fly in a linear fashion and one can infer from their motion how the plane is oriented. A quadcopter can fly in any direction and to control it, one really need to be able to see it well.

The same concerns have existed for decades with RC planes and model rockets. They have managed to co-exist for over 40 years.

There is legislation against autonomous drones, which can fly anywhere they have the power to get to.

I suppose one could build a drone with enough power to transmit video back to the operator to allow flying above levels where one see the drone from the ground, but you very quickly run into issues having a powerful enough transmitters without needing a license. Once you get into long distance set-ups, you are talking enough money that losing your aircraft is painful.

[F4lconF16]

63. I should have been clearer.

I meant legislation about privacy concerns mostly. When and if there will ever be regulations on videotaping, etc., for drones specifically.

I'm not too worried about a drone actually hitting an aircraft. I have a few friends that fly those, and there's no way they're at the altitude of planes unless whoever's flying them has some serious hardware. Not to mention I'm confident you have to register with the FAA and others at that point.

[Glassunion]

79. That would be redundant.

If it's already illegal to video something, the medium is immaterial.

[F4lconF16]

85. How so?

I'm unaware of the laws that prohibit it. Do you have a link?

[Glassunion]

89. Example.

Someone is in a public place, standing on a sidewalk video taping a house. This is not illegal.
Someone is in a public place, standing on a sidewalk video taping someone in their bathroom. This is illegal. That person has an expectation of privacy even though they have their window open.

Someone is flying a drone in public space (over a street or sidewalk) video taping a house. This is not illegal.
Someone is flying a drone in public space (over a street or sidewalk) video taping someone in their bathroom. This is illegal. That person has an expectation of privacy even though they have their window open.

As you can see you don't need a specific set a laws for drones. Is there some specific privacy (other) concern that you have that you feel a specific law or regulation would be needed?

[Joe Turner]

61. Like everything else in the country

They will wait until a drone causes a jetliner to crash before considering regulation. The flow of corporate green into government buys a lot of freedom of responsibility for corporations.

[F4lconF16]

64. That is certainly true for other situations

But not, I think, for this one. I think the main reason they haven't passed regulations yet is because it isn't all that big an issue. It's really no worse than RC aircraft, as explained excellently in the post above yours.

Completely agree that money in government loosens regulatory bindings, though.

[logosoco]

6. I bet it was even less thrilled to find it was not palatable. nt

[TwilightGardener]

9. Those featherless birds are bad eatin'.

[greytdemocrat]

12. That was great!!

Good birdie!!!

[lpbk2713]

13. Intruders apparently were not appreciated.

Point well made.

[joeybee12]

14. One more reason why hawks are great...knr

[blkmusclmachine]

16. Good! Another of Obama's 30,000 spy-bots bites the dust.

[Gore1FL]

19. No... Someone's expensive RC toy crashed. n/t

[gcomeau]

25. Please say that was sarcasm... -eom

[Earth_First]

51. There's no way this is a serious comment...

...right?

[snooper2]

98. I know right! And that was one of the weaker ones from Obama's fleet

Check this evil drone out!

[KansDem]

17. Now that's a hawk's hawk!!!

[deafskeptic]

18. Drone: 0 | hawk: 1 and the hawk is the winnah! n/t

[JaneyVee]

23. Hawk reclaims sky. "No one outsources my job!"

[JimDandy]

27. LOL. n/t

[mindwalker_i]

24. Goooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

[surrealAmerican]

26. The hawk had probably heard that these things can carry pizza.

Imagine the disappointment.

[jtuck004]

28. "Get off my...sky!!!" That's great, thank you. n/t

[Paper Roses]

29. Smart bird. He does not want surveillance either. n/t

[ms liberty]

30. Birds of prey know they're cool. (The Far Side)

[immoderate]

31. What's a good hawk repellant?

--imm

[George II]

32. Maybe the hawk was hungry?

[ybbor]

34. "That is so effing sweet"

First words out of my mouth while watching video. (Effing replaced with F-ing, of course)

[dbackjon]

35. Beautiful Red-tail

[Solly Mack]

36. Good Birdie!

[TNNurse]

37. I totally side with the hawk.

I also expect that "gun enthusiasts" will find sport in shooting down drones.

[chrisa]

38. The hawk's like "Get in my belly... Wait WTF!?"

[kestrel91316]

39. Too bad the damned drone wasn't destroyed.

[Desert805]

44. That's a terrible thing to say.

I hope your damned bicycle gets stolen.

(Makes as much sense)

[kestrel91316]

48. I don't use my bicycle to spy on and otherwise harass people.

[whopis01]

52. Well we can't know that for certain

Much like how we don't know what that person used his copter for.

[Desert805]

84. I don't use mine to spy either.

A gopro makes a terrible aerial "spy" cam. It's practically a fish eye.

Fun to chase mountain bikers down a hill with my quad rotor though, the footage is awesome!



I think one of us has a clearer picture of these toys than the other.

[NCTraveler]

96. You should come to Florida and check out some of the "drone" airfields.

It is a great collection of family members and enthusiasts. Mothers and fathers getting their children into a very healthy hobby. Flying on weekend mornings instead of just looking for a way to get their kids away from them. Around Gainesville it can often be seen all around you. People not bothering anyone and enjoying time with their family. "Drones" as you call them are a great activity. And yes, it is fun to film the adventure.

[Mister Nightowl]

42. "You're in MY world now, drone!"

[hughee99]

43. Broken drone? Thanks Obama!

Cool video, though.

[uponit7771]

49. +1

[BlancheSplanchnik]

57. :) love this gif!

[ellie]

45. Sweet!

I love birds of all kinds.

[okasha]

46. I doubt that the hawk was "enraged"--

just trying out an exotic new menu item.

[IDemo]

53. Enraged?

What else can we assume about the hawk? Maybe it's a Luddite, too?

[FreeJoe]

54. Why the drone hatred?

This wasn't a police or military drone. It was a hobbyist drone. Judging from the video, it was being flown responsibly over a public area away from crowds. They can definitely be abused, but so can just about any form of technology. The same cell phone cameras that get used to record police misconduct also get used regularly to violate people's privacy. We all criticize the latter usage, but I don't see anyone expressing general hatred for cell phone cameras. Why the drone hatred?

I'm curious because I own one and love it. It is a lot of fun to fly and is great as an areal photography/videography platform. I always fly it away from people and in areas where nobody would be expecting privacy. When I've flown it, the only problem I've had from people is having them gather around pepper me with questions while I'm busy trying to operate it.

For the record these are the questions that get asked every time:
1) How much does it cost? Between $400 and $500.

2) How far does it fly? As far as the radio can maintain contact. For obvious reasons, I keep it in visual range at all times. For FAA reasons, I keep it under 400 feet.

3) How fast is it? About 20-30 miles per hour.

4) How long can it fly? About 8-10 minutes on a battery charge.

[blackcrowflies]

56. many people

don't like their privacy invaded.

I have new neighbors with video cams on their house that obviously include my yard and house in their range. You really think I want my early morning forays out to get the newspaper while I'm wearing my bathrobe recorded? How about knowing I'm on candid camera when I prune my rosebushes.

Just because one is outside, it doesn't mean recording is okay, any more than paparazzi harassing people to death is okay.

Good for the hawk. Sorry it didn't break the camera.

[eggplant]

62. You have no expectation of pivacy in a public park. Get real. n/t

[FreeJoe]

74. Thanks

I was worried that there might be some rational reason for the hatred.

[arcane1]

78. And don't get me started on all those tourists, taking their photographs and stuff.

[mainer]

69. I don't get the hatred, either. My son uses it for aerial photography

and he has some beautiful footage of his farm. He's not spying on anyone. He's just taking photos of landscapes.

People wishing destruction of other peoples' property is just angry and nasty.

[RedCappedBandit]

71. People are dumb.

Some dude's toy got broken when he was playing around in the PARK. Sucks for him, he's out a good amount of cash. That's pretty much it. I don't see how this was some grand victory for hawks everywhere. Lol.

[Logical]

91. Easy to fly? What model? nt

[FreeJoe]

94. DJI Phantom

It has two control sticks. The left one makes it go up and down (push forward or backward) and rotate left and rotate right (push left or right). The right stick makes it fly left, right, forward, or backward. You can configure the right stick to operate relative to the "front" of the drone or relative to the position of the flyer. I've only ever used the former.

It also has a fail safe mode. If the drone loses contact with the controller, it flies to 60' feet of altitude, flies back to it's launch site, hovers for a few seconds, and then lands. Be careful about putting an object (tree, building, cliff) at 60' between you and the launch site.

[Logical]

95. Damn you.....

I feel a gadget purchase coming on! I will tell the wife it is your fault!

Thanks for the info!

[fadedrose]

58. Marvelous

There's hope for us yet...

[blackcrowflies]

59. tip for the hawk

Next time, grab the thing and dump it in the river. Let's see if it survives that.

[ballyhoo]

65. I'd like to buy that hawk a Tuaca.

[Rozlee]

66. How much does a drone weigh?

Luckily, it didn't land on some hapless jogger.

[NorthCarolina]

72. According to Amazon the "shipping" weight is 3 lbs.

Of course that likely includes packaging so I would guess the drone itself, with camera, is somewhere around the 2 lb mark.

http://www.amazon.com/U818A-2-4GHz-Axis-Quadcopter-Camera/dp/B00D3IN11Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413057756&sr=8-1&keywords=quad+copter

[roguevalley]

67. and Gwaihir the Wind Lord strikes again :D

[Jack Rabbit]

70. Right on!

Too bad it just somebody's toy and not a nefarious government drone.

[ffr]

73. Hope the hawk wasn't injured by the spinning blades

and can no longer hunt and feed itself.

[Glassunion]

81. According to the article probably not.

Most raptors especially those in the Accipiter group are quite sturdy animals.

In the article it mentions that when the pilot saw the hawk, he powered down the props before it struck.

[ffr]

82. Grazie!

I searched the page for other criteria. Thanks. I feel better.

[mainer]

88. You are aware that those blades are flimsy plastic?

My son has a quadcopter drone, and it's a fragile thing. He's always replacing the plastic blades. You can stick your finger in them and nothing would happen.

It only weighs 2.2 pounds: http://www.amazon.com/DJI-Phantom-Aerial-Drone-Quadcopter/dp/B00AGOSQI8/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1413069014&sr=8-11&keywords=rc+quadcopter+drone

The hawk may well have weighed more.

[cwydro]

83. gorgeous bird

great shot

[yortsed snacilbuper]

90. I'll see your hawk and raise you one goose!

[BronxBoy]

92. LOL.....

good video but your gif of Mitt was quite disconcerting especially when Jaws started playing

[Liberal_in_LA]

93. that vids getting high percentage of dislikes. from comments people dont like that he deliberately

Flew drone near goose