One of the issues with drone companies considering themselves tech companies and not aircraft manufacturers and making sure their drones have an Airworthiness Certification is the lack of notification when things go wrong. An accident in the UK had a very interesting statement in it by the investigation board. In this accident, the drone came … Read more
I previously interviewed Oliver Bimber regarding his work with Airborne Optical Sectioning. This software solution allows drones to fly autonomously and using AI it can piece together glimpses of thermal responses and then identify those that are humans below tree canopies. It is a revolutionary piece of software and when drones that are authorized to … Read more
The public safety drone space, and maybe the entire drone niche, is in a state of flux. An important issue I’ve run into recently is working with departments and pilots to overcome assumptions. When presented with a different perspective, the typical response is that it can’t be right. But what I’m finding is a combination … Read more
This post was submitted by the great people at Oak Island Water Rescue. We were dispatched, along with Oak Island Fire Department, to locate and assist a kayaker that had gone missing near Sheep Island. He had been boating with a friend who lost contact with him and called 911 when he could not find … Read more
I recently started a new group that is focused on North Carolina public safety assistance. The group provides aviation help and assistance to North Carolina public safety groups: fire, rescue, EMS, and law enforcement. If you are a North Carolina-based drone pilot that is involved in public safety, please consider becoming a volunteer pilot. Visit … Read more
It appears the Pentagon has put an end to the ridiculous fear and knee-jerk reaction of so many people over DJI software issues. Don’t get me wrong, I have serious concerns about the operation of the DJI aircraft that have never applied for or achieved an Airworthiness Certification. And now that support and development are … Read more
A DJI Matrice 300 RTK accident raises many issues to consider. This seems like a classic chain of the accident example where the issues that resulted in serious tendon and nerve damage began before the flight ever happened. This accident occurred on May 6, 2021, in Georgia. According to the NTSB report the pilot was … Read more
North Carolina drone pilot Michael Jones received a cease and desist letter in 2019 from the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBEES). He had been put on notice in 2018 there was a potential issue. The letter stated he had been “previously notified that the North Carolina Board of Examiners for … Read more
Before you read this I need to make sure you understand my goal here is to provide advice, guidance, experience, and opinions to public safety pilots to help them fly safely and to reduce unnecessary and avoidable personal liability for aviation activities. I sent out an email to my list subscribers about DJI Pulls the … Read more
May 24, 2021 See my update at the bottom of this post. My condolences to your investment in DJI products costing tens of thousands of dollars. The plug has been officially pulled by DJI on a number of products. This has been a problem brewing for at least a year. My advice was to avoid … Read more