Ok people, as the title says, i was out flying my mini 1 around an old abandoned house near where i live. Its been cordoned off for years by the council and it set to be demolished, however duing my flight around it the next door neighbour came out and managed a lucky shot from 35+ meteres while i was hovering at 12m up and basically shot it down with an air rifle. Definately illigal and when i confronted him he said it was because i was flying over his property which the flight logs show isnt true. I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them?

Anyway i went straight out and bought a mini 2 so i can still fly now summer is coming up.

that would be illegal here in america but i guess the rules are different in the uk.  was his air rifle registered?  lol

Its illegal in the UK too. I have no idea, im waiting for the police to respond, for none emergency in the UK it takes around 3 weeks

Do you have the damaged drone for evidence?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 4-30 10:30
Do you have the damaged drone for evidence?

Not only do i have the damaged drone with the pellet in, i have the actual footage i managed to recover of him with the gun.

The above is good but before the cops turn up, was the flight all legal? Two wrongs don't make a right.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 4-30 11:05
The above is good but before the cops turn up, was the flight all legal? Two wrongs don't make a right.

Well, in the UK mavic mini is sub 250g so you can basically fly anywhere bar over large crowds and obviously airports etc but they are geo locked anyway. It is perfectly leagal top fly near people and over houses etc.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 4-30 11:05
The above is good but before the cops turn up, was the flight all legal? Two wrongs don't make a right.

Yes, but three rights make a left.

MBSL500 Posted at 4-30 11:20
Yes, but three rights make a left.

true ....lol

Azzer Posted at 4-30 11:14
Well, in the UK mavic mini is sub 250g so you can basically fly anywhere bar over large crowds and obviously airports etc but they are geo locked anyway. It is perfectly leagal top fly near people and over houses etc.

true, and don't answer the next bit, but you might not be registered and or the drone might not have you number on it etc. etc..You can't do anything about the former but the latter.........

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 4-30 11:55
true, and don't answer the next bit, but you might not be registered and or the drone might not have you number on it etc. etc..You can't do anything about the former but the latter.........

I am registered and the drone had my registration number on it too.

All is good then

I would send him a bill for it in the form of a letter of demand, and then take him to small claims when he doesn't pay.  Sounds like he is quite proud of his aim.

"Definately illigal and when i confronted him he said it was because i was flying over his property ..."

My advice is don't confront someone perturbed or crazy enough to shoot at a drone, even if it is an air rifle.  And good enough shot to hit a flying drone.  Instead; call local law enforcement, and let them deal with situation.
I don't know about U.K., but in U.S. there are air rifles which are deadly to medium sized animals (or humans).  

In my eyes, this was a 999 job, you should have called them and not 101 or whatever the stupid number is. it took months for them to get back to me.

Deffo send them the bill with 28 days to pay and then small claims court and have all your eggs lined up, eg, the law, your certifications and or registrations, drone type and weight, flightpath, video of said fool with his gun, even video of the actual flight that shows you were not over his land?

Air rifles? One crime investigator told me it is a felony to even use a slingshot to puncture a window. US laws are not weak....just not enforced in some places. I had 3 wndows broken out by a very drunk ex-neighbor with a 25mm ball pro slingsot...with a laser sight. One came through a window and bronze wire screen and embeded itself into the far wall. I had security video showing the laser flashes... stiil not enough proof! Sad.

Bashy Posted at 4-30 19:03
In my eyes, this was a 999 job, you should have called them and not 101 or whatever the stupid number is. it took months for them to get back to me.

Deffo send them the bill with 28 days to pay and then small claims court and have all your eggs lined up, eg, the law, your certifications and or registrations, drone type and weight, flightpath, video of said fool with his gun, even video of the actual flight that shows you were not over his land?

Yes definitely not over his land. And video of him in the corner of the footage watching and getting his gun ready.

Hi there. We're deeply sorry to know about the incident that happened to your unit. You can coordinate this to the local authorities in the area. Be safe next time. Thank you for your valued support.

Here in Sweden if I am not wrong, once you are up in the air, you are in no mans land, but in the aviation authorities. You can not take off from someones land, but OK to fly over it. But, as you has proof you were not even over his land, I think he has a problem.

Just don't fly the new Mini  around his house

Azzer Posted at 4-30 10:44
Not only do i have the damaged drone with the pellet in, i have the actual footage i managed to recover of him with the gun.

So, you have the smoking gun
Air guns are tightly regulated, so he might lose it and his licence

Azzer, keep the video for the investigators, make at least one copy for you.  Be calm and honest, to a trained investigator, honesty can
be seen and heard.  But sometimes it goes astray!   About your neighbor "what cheek!"