In what may be the first case of a drone pilot receiving jail time for a crash, a Seattle man has been sentenced to 30 days for a 2015 crash that knocked a woman unconscious.
The man, 38-year-old Paul Skinner, also received a $500 fine. At the 2015 Seattle Pride Parade, Skinner was flying a drone, when it crashed into a building and fell into the crowd, knocking a 25-year-old woman unconscious and causing injuries that a detective described as "not a gentle concussion." Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes recommended a 90-day jail term for Skinner on the charge of reckless endangerment ("recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person”), but Judge Willie Gregory eventually sentenced Skinner to the aforementioned 30 days after a four-day trial.
A hearing has also been set for May 25 to determine how much restitution is owed to the woman for her medical bills. While Skinner's attorney has said that they will appeal the verdict, Holmes noted: "Operators should know that we will continue to go after them when they disregard public safety.”
What do you think? Is it a reasonable sentence? Let us know in the comments.
[via Drone Life]
Flying a drone over people, especially a crowd is taking a risk and not something I would do because of the dangers involved; ie. drone failure/malfunction, mid-air collision whether another drone, building, lamp post, whatever (as was the case here). There is no back-up system, no "safety net" for some going like this happening if the shit hits the fan.
If something goes wrong and and a drone operator injures or even worse kills someone with their drone then most likely, they are responsible. Buildings don't jump out at drones and knock them out of the sky.
An accident like this is unfortunate, and I doubt any sane drone operator would never do something like this on purpose, but I view this sort of thing as similar to a driver of a car accidentally hitting a pedestrian.
Not that I would want to go to jail for 30 days or pay $500, but it doesn't seem so drastic.
Again, what would the outcome be if the drone operator was driving a car instead and veered of the road and hit these people with his car?
cars are restricted from traveling in bike lanes or strictly pedestrian roads. Auto travel is highly restricted to designated public roads, speed limits and right of way laws to protect the public. If a driver disobeys these restrictions and drives their car somewhere where cars are prohibited, at an unsafe speed or ignores right of way, they too can go to jail if anyone is injured from their intentional reckless actions.Reckless automobile drivers do not intend to hurt others however their intent does not absolve their liability for their actions.
Flying drones over crowds in public spaces is prohibited because even with experienced operators there is always the possibility of a wind gust, an aggressive bird or some other phenomenon causing the drone to crash. That the danger of crashing is always a reasonable possibility is why there exists a prohibition.
As a new drone operator myself, I cringe at the thought of going to jail for what was clearly an accident, however, like Ben Young above, I can't argue with the verdict as it does strike me as reckless to fly over a crowd. If it were my wife or child hit by a drone, I would want a severe penalty for the drone operator too.
Fun fact... I shot a wedding this past summer and the filmmaker was flying his drone inside the ballroom above the dance floor (and above about 150 people).
Well he hit the chandelier accidentally but somehow managed to prevent the drone from falling down onto someone. The venue was less than pleased.
I'm sure the footage was cool but not cool enough for that kind of risk.
The ballroom is a private space and under the jurisdiction of the venue management and the couple renting the hall. If they both granted permission to operate a drone in that private space or even outdoors over a crowd on private property, no laws were broken...however if the drone did injure a guest the operator, the venue management or even the couple hiring the drone could be held liable for civil damages.
I wasn't trying to imply he broke any laws, I just thought it was generally a bad idea. Had the drone crashed and taken out some poor kid waiting in line for his Shirly Temple, it would have been a much bigger deal.
Agree. I'm guessing the guests didn't have a vote on some fool flying a drone over their heads when they RSVP to the wedding.
Right but wrong. You have unlimited liability where guests on private property are concerned. Recklessness/Negligence etc can still see you either in jail or faced with heavy legal awards. Merely inviting someone unto your private property does not give you consent to fly drones over their heads. Don't take my word for it...just wait until someone get's scalped at a wedding.
I'm all about this guy getting jail time. It's old news now but I think the judge was clear that the decision was based on recklessness.
Operating above the heads of people who may or may not know a flying bomb is above their heads....with no redundant systems.
I expect the same will happen with boosted boards...so many people doing stupid crap with those on public sidewalks..
This wasn't an unforeseen accident beyond his control but a deliberate action that recklessly endangered lives. FAA regulations and local ordinances regarding drones specifically spell out the danger of flying drones over crowded pedestrian areas and restrict such actions along with flying drones in the airspace of planes and helicopters. I assume the operator didn't have proper liability insurance either.
While this seems somewhat harsh, I've served on enough juries to know that unless you know the actual details of what happened, it's hard to judge. I would imagine that he was especially reckless and she was seriously injured. Plus, he still faces a civil suit, more than likely.
Is there a law about flying over crowds of people but not just people in general? What if it's a small crowd?
The regulations forbid flying over any person not involved in the flight, though I would guess choosing to fly over a dense crowd factored into the reckless endangerment charge in this case.