Public Safety Drone Flight

This question from a pilot came in through my ReportDroneAccident.com website. You can ask me questions here or here. The Question Hey Steve, Just came across your website. It is very important to share this knowledge in the way you do. Thank you! I was wondering if you have any info regarding the Matrice 300 RTK recently launched. I own ... Read More »

I received the following question from a drone pilot and I thought I’d take the time to share this great question with everyone. If you have a question you’d like to ask, click here. Drone Battery Question “Hi, I don’t have a new problem to report and am still waiting on DJI for a report/assessment on the stuck Battery percentage ... Read More »

The recent crash of a Matrice 200 aircraft presents training opportunities we can all learn from to be better pilots. See the accident report and my analysis and training suggestions over at DJI Matrice 200 – Accident – 2020-09-10 – Fatal Component. Read More »

Critical Safety Alert I have now received reports from two experienced pilots from different agencies that were flying a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual or a Matrice 210 that developed a battery warning issue. My concern is that in a busy incident scene the conflicting displayed information regarding the battery may lead to a crash. I would urge you to ... Read More »

TBVLOS Messaging is Misleading If you are a public safety UAS pilot and read all of the exciting headlines coming out that the FAA is now allowing Tactical Beyond Visual Line of Sight (TBVLOS) operations, you need to land for a moment. The reality is the exciting news is really operations less than what you’ve been doing already. Here are ... Read More »

The following guest post was written by FDNY Firefighter and Pilot -John Wakie, John is also the co-founder of Aerosponse, a public safety consulting company that I would highly recommend. You can’t imagine how proud I am to hear him share the foundational lessons all professional UAS pilots need to hear. Fly Safe – Stay Safe I know we have ... Read More »

A reader that saw my webinar on the use of the thermal camera asked me a very technical question and I had to turn to a leading thermal camera company for an answer. An unnamed expert source said this about the current implementation of the thermal camera in the Pilot app; “Here’s the last point to keep in mind: the ... Read More »

I got frustrated trying to hunt down actual data on drone accidents, issues, and crashes after my April 2020 inflight emergency with the drone. What I discovered were some disappointing facts. Actual crash data is hard to come by. Drone failure information is not widely available to help you better understand the safety risks your aircraft may have. Manufacturers are ... Read More »

I’ve launched a website for all pilots to report issues they may have experienced in drone flight. Please submit any reports at ReportDroneAccident.com. This is a very hard post to write. I already know many people are going to skewer me and call me an idiot for sharing what I have found, but that doesn’t make the facts wrong. All ... Read More »

Starting today more than 100 control towers and airports will be added to the hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic facilities and airports that currently use the Low Altitude Authorization and Capability (LAANC) system. LAANC is a collaboration between the FAA and industry that directly supports the safe integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the nation’s airspace. LAANC ... Read More »