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A drone collided with one of the only Super Scooper planes fighting the LA wildfires, grounding a key resource (www.businessinsider.com)
submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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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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[-] JayleneSlide@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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!"

  1. There are Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in place for that region.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

[-] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 14 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] breakingcups@lemmy.world 57 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 42 points 1 month ago

Don't worry, he'll "police himself".

[-] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 12 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] WordBox@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 5 points 1 month ago

You know there are publically available maps you can check before a flight, right?

[-] superkret@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago

Which I'm sure you're doing before every single flight, right?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 41 points 1 month ago

It's not all bad news. Mel Gibson's house burned down.

[-] formergijoe@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

And James Woods'.

[-] Anissem@lemmy.ml 31 points 1 month ago

They should brand that fucker with the smoldering remains and parade them around town so we can all take turns peeing on them

[-] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

Yup. That's a H U G E hole in the leading edge of the wing.

I mean that's the kind of shit that brings planes down.

[-] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

For anyone interested, the plane is the CL-415 and the following video shows how it loads up with water.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cHuoXD_VmBs

Now imagine what could have happened if that fucking drone had hit the wing while the plane was 20 ft off the water.

I hope they catch that asshole and fine him big time.

[-] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Can someone tell me more about how a drone took down a plane?

Unrelated: anyone got a link to that mastodon account that tracks Elon Musk's jet?

[-] Xtallll 17 points 1 month ago

The drone impacted and penetrated the leading edge of one of the wings. The leading edge is thin for weight but its shape is what makes wings work, also a hole in the leading edge allows pressure to be applied to the inside of the wing which is not one of the directions it's designed to withstand.

[-] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 3 points 1 month ago

Thanks. Would this have the same effect if the plane was carrying a payload of a few people who have billions of dollars in their bank accounts?

Or would it only happen with a payload of water weight?

[-] Xtallll 5 points 1 month ago

It could have been worse, if the plane had a jet engine damage to the turbine in the front of the engine could have been catastrophic. The high speed carefully balanced spinning blades could tear the entire engine apart if damaged.

[-] breakingcups@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

If that drone doesn't have a very valid, emergency services type reason to be there, that would make the operator an irresponsible asshole.

[-] the_hex@sopuli.xyz 17 points 1 month ago

Having working in the field for a few years, the amount of utterly irresponsible assholes would shock you. I was on a few hundred thousand hectare fire, and someone was flying their small personal aircraft over the area repeatedly. He was arrested when he landed at the nearest airport, but for a few hours all the helicopter support was grounded because of one jackass who wanted a better view.

[-] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

My guess is it's an LAPD operator. The civilians stayed out of the restricted airspace. Some chud cop thinks the rules don't apply to him, so he flies a drone in an unauthorized zone. He manages to hit a firefighting plane. And the LAPD quickly sweeps the whole thing under the rug and blames it on a never-found civilian.

[-] Carvex@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Nice. Fucking nice.

[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Marrone warned that federal officials were monitoring the area and had the ability to identify who was flying drones.

What with all the drone hysteria in NJ this is amusing.

this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
357 points (100.0% liked)

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