FAA May Investigate After Drone Nearly Collides With KDKA News Chopper

This sort of thing could be a real issue for us.  First there is certainly are real risks for helicopter crew in a conflict with a drone.

But I am also sure that the guys flying the news copters realize  that sooner or later their jobs are going to be taken over by the type of equipment we fly, and they are going to be very sensitive to any competition from our presence.

f1@frankschaffe Posted at 2015-5-15 23:00
This sort of thing could be a real issue for us.  First there is certainly are real risks for helico ...

Exactly.  I'm seeing the second issue you raise especially - which may lead to exaggerated reports of "near collisions" where none may have occurred.  For instance if you watch the video connected with this story, there is NO footage of the UAS showing it anywhere close to the news helicopter.  Was there a near-collision?  Or was the crew just angry that now anyone can capture footage that used to be exclusively theirs?

Unfortunately they report near collisions (or in miss-term of a "near-mis") as anything where two flying objects come within 500 feet of each other. Unfortunately the perception of those terms to the public seems much more dramatic (like in the case of this guy flying around news copters with his quad) and sustaining a higher level of danger and safety issues. Not saying what he was doing was safe, it was stupid either way and should never be done or attempted and ass seen he was WELL over the height restrictions for Quads, recreational or commercial.

So ... Was the drone to close to the helicopter or was the helicopter to close to the drone !?
Both of them where flying close to buildings and trees ... that could be a safety hazard also ... hjm ... tricky!
They didn´t mention how close the other two news chopters where ... They must have been a much bigger safety hazard then the small quad ...

I think this news clip is very misleading.  Look at the way the drone is yawing while apparantly flying in the same direction.  Unless it had IOC enabled, I would say it is actually hovering and it is the relative circling of the helicopter that makes it appear that the drone is moving at great speeds.

Jason

I will say that from the video we he doesn't look close at all. But then again we didnt see what prompted them to start filming the drone in their area.

OK...we are in a technological change period. I think it is best that hobbiest "drone" flyer stay away from covering news.....if they are the first on the scene...OK...but should leave as soon as emergency crews or helicopters arrive.....actually...I wouldn't even fly in an emergency zone...you never know when a rescue copter will be coming in.

I wonder if KDKA is having second thoughts about even airing this story after the 300+ reader comments that side with the drone.  The media should also realize RC crafts will save money for them in the future.

A friend flies a police helicopter in a major North Texas city. He told me recently that they were trying to get a new bird to replace their agin Bell 206 but it's looking more likely they're going to scale the aviation division back and put more resources into some drones.

For what it costs to operate a turbine helicopter you could get a whole fleet of drones, operators for them, spares, training, and vehicles to transport them.

that's why with the FAA ruling , UAS have to stay below 400'... Helicopters have to stay 500' and above. 100' gap for safety. That phantom wasn't anywhere near him.

I flew my Phantom over AT&T Park in San Francisco a couple of months ago and a helicopter suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flying very low. When confronted with that very real scenario, my  natural instinct was to get clear of the helicopter as quickly as possible. My first thought was that my little Phantom would be immediately blown out of the sky by the turbulence, and my second was a very ugly vision of a crashing helicopter with me standing there holding a remote controller. It was only later that I thought about how low the helicopter was flying and whether it should have been there or not. But self preservation takes over and all thought goes to getting out'a Dodge as quickly as possible.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is Ultra Lites. We had one sneak up on us out in the country, one time. They fly really low and are not very loud.

Here is my two pennies:

1. The helicopter camera zoomed in and the Phantom appears closer which makes the background move faster thus giving the appearance of a fast moving Phantom
2. The Helicopter News crew was crying wolf, they like their jobs and taking a jab at drones is good for business
3. Here is some Helicopter flight rules:
§ 91.119   Minimum safe altitudes: General
Helicopters may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface.  Paragraph B states that an aircraft must maintain an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft in congested areas.  Paragraph C states that an aircraft must maintain an altitude of 500 feet above the surface in non-congested areas.  Over open water or sparsely populated areas, an aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

In the case of this helicopter flying in a congested area they should be flying a Min. of 1000 feet above any obstacles which would put them at least 1500 feet.  Thus my point of the camera zooming in.

4. With that said the Phantom pilot.operator should be giving way to anyone and not become the issue.  If they wanted to shoot the fire then maintain the min altitude and stay static in one area.