Seattle's Ferris wheel hit by drone

[tim0901]

A drone crashed into the Ferris wheel during the afternoon on Wednesday 11th of November. 

 

There were no injuries in the incident in which the drone hit the wheel and then a table as it fell to the ground.

The area on Seattle's Pier 57 is understood to be a no-fly zone.

 

Pictures of the drone surfacing online suggest the drone in question likely was a DJI Phantom 3.

Sounds like another idiot with a drone...shouldn't it be common sense not to fly them in a no fly zone? 

 

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34797182

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/drone-collides-with-seattle-ferris-wheel-busts-through-plastic-table/

[Stardar1]

why is an accident in seattle being reported on a BBC website? and why was this the site you picked?

[tim0901]

It was the place I saw it first?

[RexinOridle]

It's a quadcopter. Not a drone. Damn it. People trying to showoff calling quads drones and now hobby lovers all over the world getting into shit with drone laws.

And stop flying your toys over no-fly zones and being stupid.

[NeatSquidYT]

It's a quadcopter. Not a drone. Damn it. People trying to showoff calling quads drones and now hobby lovers all over the world getting into shit with drone laws.

And stop flying your toys over no-fly zones and being stupid.

The website seems to think it's a drone https://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3

[Prysin]

i hope drones and quad copters become really hard to get.

 

they are neat and all that, but they are heady and fast enough to kill or critically injure a human being. Stuff that you can intentionally or accidentally kill someone with from afar should be regulated heavily.

[Xorbot]

It's a quadcopter. Not a drone. Damn it. People trying to showoff calling quads drones and now hobby lovers all over the world getting into shit with drone laws.

And stop flying your toys over no-fly zones and being stupid.

 

Just throwing this out there:

 

Isn't it funny how people improperly use drones and cause Ferris wheel crashes (but no fatalities) will likely result in stricter regulations and possible banning of drones/flying RC devices....

 

...but the improper use of guns which cause several fatalities will see no stricter regulations whatsoever?

[NumLock21]

I thought the Ferris Wheel broke loose from its base and terrorize a whole city, sadly what was not the case.

Great, 1 idiot to ruin it for everyone.

[dalekphalm]

It's a quadcopter. Not a drone. Damn it. People trying to showoff calling quads drones and now hobby lovers all over the world getting into shit with drone laws.

And stop flying your toys over no-fly zones and being stupid.

Please post an official, industry standard accepted definition, that says that Drones and Quadcopters are not interchangeable?

 

All Quadcopters are Drones. But not all Drones are Quadcopters. A drone can be fixed wing, helicopter, quadcopter, etc. A drone is simply an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle. Which, a quadcopter certainly is.

 

When you get right down to it, what's the difference between a military UAV and a quadcopter? Size, mostly. They both run off the same basic principles. Remotely controlled vehicles that fly in some manner. Newer UAV's can be 100% programming/autopilot based, with no remote control or user intervention, but you can build a Quadcopter that does the same thing too.

[ChineseChef]

Just throwing this out there:

 

Isn't it funny how people improperly use drones and cause Ferris wheel crashes (but no fatalities) will likely result in stricter regulations and possible banning of drones/flying RC devices....

 

...but the improper use of guns which cause several fatalities will see no stricter regulations whatsoever?

 

All moral and personal arguments aside; this is entirely because of money to be gained, and the impossible task of getting all the guns from everyone.

[Shakaza]

I am so sick of people running their drones, quadcopters, or whatever unmanned, remotely controlled, aerial vehicles they fancy into everything. Ugh, I guess it's just the nature of life and humanity in general that a few fringe people are going to do stupid things, though I wish they wouldn't affect everyone else so harshly. Bitter disappointment e-ver-y time. In any case, I doubt more regulations on drones are gonna do anything here. As I said, it's just a few individuals who do stupid things like this; more than likely laws aren't going to deter those people.

[Dabombinable]

Great. More ammo that will stop me from flying my remote control helicopter with the ghetto button camera it (modified to be wireless-the 9V battery pack helps a lot with controlling the damn thing-the motor was to powerful).

[GoldSrc]

Another moron helping destroy the fun for others who actually enjoy their hobby.

[Agent181]

i hope drones and quad copters become really hard to get.

 

they are neat and all that, but they are heady and fast enough to kill or critically injure a human being. Stuff that you can intentionally or accidentally kill someone with from afar should be regulated heavily.

UM NO 

[f22luke]

The website seems to think it's a drone https://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3

the phantom can go into unmanned mode and fly automatically to different gps way-points.  I consider it to be a drone because of that.

[TheSLSAMG]

...but the improper use of guns which cause several fatalities will see no stricter regulations whatsoever?

You think the left in this country (the US) isn't fighting for strict gun legislation and bans?

 

The only reason drone legislation can slip through is because they're not as popular, prevalent or as widespread as guns. And the gun topic is a whole different one in itself, and one that has no place being argued over on a tech forum. And yes, you can probably tell where I stand.

[Yog]

shouldn't it be common sense not to fly them in a no fly zone? 

Rule of law means nothing to most people, they'll follow the rules that make sense to them and ignore the rest without bothering to understand them.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Rule of law means nothing to most people, they'll follow the rules that make sense to them and ignore the rest without bothering to understand them.

It's called post-conventional morality.

[bcredeur97]

Just throwing this out there:

 

Isn't it funny how people improperly use drones and cause Ferris wheel crashes (but no fatalities) will likely result in stricter regulations and possible banning of drones/flying RC devices....

 

...but the improper use of guns which cause several fatalities will see no stricter regulations whatsoever?

my problem with gun regulations is that they likely wont help... and at the end of the day all the bad guys will have the weaponry. I just feel like things wouldn't change. It's like torrents -- yes they are illegal, but people will constantly find ways to get their hands on them. even when sources are smashed, new ones come up. It just never ends, and the *evil* people will always get what they want.

 

But at the same time accidents involving mentally challenged people and/or un-knowledgeable people will happen less. Which is an awesome thing!

 

I just don't know... so hard to balance between these two things.. I also feel like the day people need to protect themselves for whatever reason... They won't be able to. I have always laughed and said that if someone decided to invade the US that they have way more than the military to worry about with all of our citizens carrying weapons around daily lol. But I am totally aware that this can be a bad thing. It's like I can't take either side!

 

don't want to start a rant on guns vs. no guns.. but just thought I'd throw an unvoiced opinion out there... 

 

 

But on-topic; I don't see why people just get the simple app on their phone and check for no-fly zones before the fly their drones/quadcopters. It's so simple and easy to do. Just fly your stuff in your favorite place away from these areas. But yeah, drones often don't cause anything more than minor injuries, and guns are a way more serious topic. Perhaps this is going too far? 

[zMeul]

...but the improper use of guns which cause several fatalities will see no stricter regulations whatsoever?

and what makes you think regulating drones will stop this incidents?! people will still be stupid

car related deaths are above a million across the globe, and yet I don't see stricter rules and regulations

gun, drone car - these aren't the problem, the problem is the people

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

and what makes you think regulating drones will stop this incidents?! people will still be stupid

If people can't get drones as easily, less people who don't know how to use them will use them, so less incidents will happen. It's that easy.

[zMeul]

If people can't get drones as easily, less people who don't know how to use them will use them, so less incidents will happen. It's that easy.

UK has very strict gun control, people killing each other stopped?! no! not even obtaining illegal firearms

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

UK has very strict gun control, people killing each other stopped?! no! not even obtaining illegal firearms

The whole "banning weapons just makes people get them illegally" argument isn't really as true as you'd like, I'll just let this speak for itself. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

[zMeul]

...

cut the crap

the terrorist attack in France, Charlie Hebdo, was done with firearms, yes!? yes

the train incident on August 21, France, was done with firearms, yes?! yes

does France have very strict gun control laws, yes?! yes

what the fuck are you on about

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

cut the crapthe terrorist attack in France, Charlie Hebdo, was done with firearms, yes!? yesthe train incident on August 21, France, was done with firearms, yes?! yesdoes France have very strict gun control laws, yes?! yeswhat the fuck are you on about

So two different incidents are a stronger argument than the statistics of all murders committed with firearms. Riiiiiiight...