Retarded Pilot Flies DJI Phantom Into Traffic [VIDEO]
Crazy drone pilots are like dumb TV shows. You always think there is no way going lower and there is no space for more idiots to pull off worse stunts that just make no common sense. And then, there is. If you haven’t seen the video of a Turkish photographer flying into the airspace of Istanbul airport, do check it out as it is a true Darwin Award contender!
This pilot flies DJI Phantom into traffic, speeding against the cars and semi trucks. It happened in Chile to our best knowledge. You can guess how it ended.
I hate to say this, but as it was the case of the Phantom that got torn apart by lions, watching how this ends is oddly satisfying. Of course, it could have ended much worse, causing a major series of collisions and personal injury or death. So the retarded pilot actually losing his quad and GoPro feels like karma at it’s best giving him a $1500 lesson. I also have to say that he got away with this cheap as even though there isn’t much regulation in Chile governing multicopter flights, I am sure he would have ended up severely penalized or jailed if a collision would have happened causing injury or costing human life.
The driver how finds the Phantom scraping under his car is great though. He called his girlfriend and told her he saw something white fall and scrape under his car. To his amazement it was a “drone”. Later he talks into the camera telling whoever is watching that he can have it back and gave his email address where he could be contacted. I guess he did not realize how much danger this pilot put him and his fellow drivers through. This pilot should have spent some time training with one of the drone flight simulators we review here.
One thing everyone not familiar with our hobby should understand when watching this video: Drone, quadcopter, UAV pilots in general, are not like this bozo who obviously has no common sense. It is popular to call Phantom pilots in general morons, but I am also sure that the vast majority of them would not do anything like this. The Phantom is just the most prevalent platform, so obviously they end up in stories like this.
Will this post get comments like: “This guy just ruined our hobby”? Yes, it will. At the same time, I feel that awareness needs to be raised and people like this need to get punished, which is only possible if the video makes its way to the authorities. Sweeping things under the rug will not solve our problem.
The lesson to learn: never ever fly over traffic, crowds of people or any place where it is against common sense! If you need a bit of guidance, check out our post on the main rules when flying quadcopters or the Know Before You Fly website!
Someone in Chile decided to fly a GoPro mounted Phantom right into traffic speeding against the cars and semi trucks. You can guess how it ended.
Kennedy Martinez
kennedy@dronethusiast.comKennedy Martinez is a resident writer who joined Dronethusiast at the beginning of 2019. She has years of experience reviewing drones and other tech products. When it comes to flying drones, Kennedy loves the ability to create artistic videos from a unique point of view. Kennedy enjoys researching new drones and other exciting products that are available to consumers which is why she is committed to creating the best buyer's guides for our readers.
I appreciate your efforts to raise public awareness to flying responsibly, but please stop using the word “retard” to describe pilots and multirotor owners who do not.
Dear Jason. Thank you for you comments and I am sorry if my comment hurts your feelings. It was not my intention at all, just my personal reaction at the moment of finding the video. I agree that the word I used might not be fully appropriate, I will do my best not to go this far next time. Out of curiosity, when you feel really outraged about what someone does and you feel the person is crazy, what is the right word to use? What was the description that popped to your mind first? Not defending myself or trying to be smart, just want to know.
I think point is that it’s not necessarily a good idea to USE the first description that pops into your (and everyone’s, let’s not entertain pretenses) mind. Probably best to stick to accurate but non-antagonistic descriptions like “grossly irresponsible” or “incredibly reckless”. At any rate, thanks for sharing this story, at least it’s some non-sensationalist press about the event.
The headline for this story is tasteless, and insulting. Are you 10 years old? Find a better word.
Hello Joe. Sorry if you find the post title offensive. It was my first reaction of outrage when seeing this video. I agree, I might have gone too far, even if this site is not the WSJ. Sorry again.
I use the word “moron”
Hi Zsolt, congratulations on great blog. Also, congratulations on your response to using “retard”. Shows how easy we fall in to using offensive terms. Your reaction show great maturity.
Thank you Ian for the kind words.
the words moron and retard actually were the first that came to my mind and I make no apology for that. To think that a person could put several lanes of traffic in danger of death by a completely ridiculously irresponsible act made me draw the conclusion that he is one or the other.
I don’t refer to the mentally ill in this manner by the way only those people who decide for themselves by their actions that they are deserving of the title.
Let’s use a neutral word like “idiot” or “doofus” and avoid stigmatizing those with specific medical conditions. There’s a better description of “political correctness”, and it is good taste and manners.
Now change the post title.
What possible good does it do to call the drone operator names? He already knows he did something stupid – do you enjoy rubbing salt in the wounds? Does it make you superior?
Knee-jerk responses like yours does harm to the personal drone community by highlighting the general fear and ignorance of drones. You also accuse him of “put several lanes of traffic in danger of death” is extreme and antagonist. It only adds fuel to the anti-drone crowd. In the video there was no obvious attempt by any vehicle driver to avoid the small piece of plastic. They just ran over it, so how was this tempting death?
Does a piece of trash blowing out of a pickup truck cause fatal accidents? Does a child throwing a toy from a car cause fatal accidents? Rarely. When someone who should know better screams “HE FLEW OVER A CROWD- EVERYONE IS GOING TO DIE”, the drone-ignorant public takes this to mean that flying over a crowd is certain death.
If you can’t make a contribution to the small personal drone community, then don’t say anything. This video is an example of what can go wrong from flying too low. Learn from it. Calling the operator names and stoking the fear of personal drones does more harm than not saying anything.
I enjoy your newsletter, including this one. I find and them very helpful. Learning from others mistakes and successes but fore I receive my Phantom will help me to be more successful when I do fly.
Thanks Shawn, glad to hear that. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions when or before you get your bird. My personal email is zsolt@ this site’s domain TLD.
Enough with being “offended” by the word retard. Grow up and get a sense of humor. He’s not kicking a mentally challenged person in the face. It’s a simple expression.
Idiots.