A Lesson Learned... The Hard Way

Petah · Jul 14, 2019

Hi Board,

They say the hard lessons are the ones you remember.

I'd not flown this bird in a while (Inspire1 Pro, Zenmuse X5) and decided to take it up to get some video of a school property for a project I'm working on. I parked my Tahoe in a parking space, and set the bird down in the next space over. Preflight was fine, so I took off. I was standing under the raised hatch of the Tahoe (so as to be in the shade) and leaning back against the bumper. The bird took flight, just like it's done hundreds of times before. Suddenly, with no input on the stick, the bird began drifting rapidly towards me. Since I couldn't back up (was already leaning against the vehicle) I had nowhere to go, so instinctively put my hand up to fend off the bird. Big mistake, causing a trip to the ER and 6 stitches in my ring and pinkie finger. All of this taught me a few things, which I thought I'd pass along in case it helps one of you avoid my fate:

1) The prop blades on an I1 are pretty **** unforgiving. Very sharp, and a hell of a lot tougher than my fingers.
2) The motors on an I1 spin these props with gusto; slicing through 2 fingers, a new pair of jeans and the skin on my right leg didn't even bog the motor down.
3) I shall now treat these aircraft with more respect, notably making sure that me, my VO and anybody else is at least 20 (not 5) feet away from the takeoff/landing spot and have room to move if I need to.

There's proably more lessons to be learned here, but the big one to me is don't get complacent. Just because you have a bunch of stick time with a particular bird it doesn't mean it has lost the ability to surprise you with some unexpected moves.

DrBob · Jul 15, 2019

Another lesson - don't use carbon fiber blades. After all, they make knives out of that stuff. Imagine how much worse your injuries could have been. I bought a set, then read a similar warning, and never installed them.

Donnie Frank · Jul 15, 2019

Petah said:
Hi Board,

They say the hard lessons are the ones you remember.

I'd not flown this bird in a while (Inspire1 Pro, Zenmuse X5) and decided to take it up to get some video of a school property for a project I'm working on. I parked my Tahoe in a parking space, and set the bird down in the next space over. Preflight was fine, so I took off. I was standing under the raised hatch of the Tahoe (so as to be in the shade) and leaning back against the bumper. The bird took flight, just like it's done hundreds of times before. Suddenly, with no input on the stick, the bird began drifting rapidly towards me. Since I couldn't back up (was already leaning against the vehicle) I had nowhere to go, so instinctively put my hand up to fend off the bird. Big mistake, causing a trip to the ER and 6 stitches in my ring and pinkie finger. All of this taught me a few things, which I thought I'd pass along in case it helps one of you avoid my fate:

1) The prop blades on an I1 are pretty **** unforgiving. Very sharp, and a hell of a lot tougher than my fingers.
2) The motors on an I1 spin these props with gusto; slicing through 2 fingers, a new pair of jeans and the skin on my right leg didn't even bog the motor down.
3) I shall now treat these aircraft with more respect, notably making sure that me, my VO and anybody else is at least 20 (not 5) feet away from the takeoff/landing spot and have room to move if I need to.

There's proably more lessons to be learned here, but the big one to me is don't get complacent. Just because you have a bunch of stick time with a particular bird it doesn't mean it has lost the ability to surprise you with some unexpected moves.

Though I haven't learned this hard lesson, any more these days I fly my Inspire 1 EXACTLY as you have described - hatch open, basking in the shade, sitting on the bumper. The only difference is that I launch my bird from about 20' away. This wasn't due to any "hard lessons." It's just something I've always done. Thank you for re-affirming that I've been "doing it right." I hope you heal quickly.

D

Kirk Voclain · Jul 15, 2019

If you got that much damage from an Inspire 1.....DO NOT come in contact with an Inspire 2!!! It will be crazy worst!!

S White · Jul 15, 2019

Thanks DrBob for confirming my concerns on the carbon blades. I really wanted to buy some, figuring it would make a great bird even better. But you are likely right. Also, the misfortune of Petah serves as a great example of the respect all pilots need to have of any multi-rotor and the possible results of dropping into a crowd of people. There is a reason to be overly careful around people. These birds are great and magical in their abilities, but heading into the wrong direction can be very dangerous.

Forby · Jul 15, 2019

§ 107.9 Accident reporting.
No later than 10 calendar days after an operation that meets the criteria of either paragraph (a) or (b) of
this section, a remote pilot in command must report to the FAA, in a manner acceptable to the Administrator, any operation of the small unmanned aircraft involving at least:
(a) Serious injury to any person or any loss of consciousness; or
(b) Damage to any property, other than the small unmanned aircraft, unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:
(1) The cost of repair (including materials and labor) does not exceed $500; or
(2) The fair market value of the property does not exceed $500 in the event of total loss.

Advisory Circular 107-2 on Section 107.9 Accident reporting.
Accident Reporting. The remote PIC of the sUAS is required to report an accident to the
FAA within 10 days if it meets any of the following thresholds:
1. At least serious injury to any person or any loss of consciousness. A serious injury is an injury that qualifies as Level 3 or higher on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). The AIS is an anatomical scoring system that provides a means of ranking the severity of an injury and is widely used by emergency medical personnel. Within the AIS system, injuries are ranked on a scale of 1 to 6, with Level 1 being a minor injury, Level 2 is moderate, Level 3 is serious, Level 4 is severe, Level 5 is critical, and Level 6 is a nonsurvivable injury. The FAA currently uses serious injury (AIS Level 3) as an injury threshold in other FAA regulations.
Note: It would be considered a “serious injury” if a person requires hospitalization, but the injury is fully reversible (including, but not limited to, head trauma, broken bone(s), or laceration(s) to the skin that requires suturing).

GFields · Jul 15, 2019

Been there and can relate. I nearly had my thumb cut off trying to catch a crashing I2

Petah · Jul 15, 2019

Forby said:
§ 107.9 Accident reporting.
No later than 10 calendar days after an operation that meets the criteria of either paragraph (a) or (b) of
this section, a remote pilot in command must report to the FAA, in a manner acceptable to the Administrator, any operation of the small unmanned aircraft involving at least:
(a) Serious injury to any person or any loss of consciousness; or
(b) Damage to any property, other than the small unmanned aircraft, unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:
(1) The cost of repair (including materials and labor) does not exceed $500; or
(2) The fair market value of the property does not exceed $500 in the event of total loss.

Advisory Circular 107-2 on Section 107.9 Accident reporting.
Accident Reporting. The remote PIC of the sUAS is required to report an accident to the
FAA within 10 days if it meets any of the following thresholds:
1. At least serious injury to any person or any loss of consciousness. A serious injury is an injury that qualifies as Level 3 or higher on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). The AIS is an anatomical scoring system that provides a means of ranking the severity of an injury and is widely used by emergency medical personnel. Within the AIS system, injuries are ranked on a scale of 1 to 6, with Level 1 being a minor injury, Level 2 is moderate, Level 3 is serious, Level 4 is severe, Level 5 is critical, and Level 6 is a nonsurvivable injury. The FAA currently uses serious injury (AIS Level 3) as an injury threshold in other FAA regulations.
Note: It would be considered a “serious injury” if a person requires hospitalization, but the injury is fully reversible (including, but not limited to, head trauma, broken bone(s), or laceration(s) to the skin that requires suturing).

Thanks Forby, I have reported the incident via FAADroneZone.

Petah · Jul 15, 2019

DrBob said:
Another lesson - don't use carbon fiber blades. After all, they make knives out of that stuff. Imagine how much worse your injuries could have been. I bought a set, then read a similar warning, and never installed them.

Probably excellent advice, DrBob. On this incident I lost about 1.5" of each end of one prop, probably when it hit my leg. CF blades would be much tougher and would do more damage, I'd think. Oddly enough, the ad at the top of this page just now is forT-Motor folding props, which appear to be hinged like those on a Mavic2 instead of one piece rigid. THat might have saved me some heartache.

snowghost · Jul 15, 2019

Sorry for mishap. How did the drone fare?

Petah · Jul 15, 2019

snowghost said:
Sorry for mishap. How did the drone fare?

Initial damage assessment is one broken prop, however it's grounded until I can understand why this happened. I've reviewed the logs in airdata and there was no control input that would have caused this, but a bunch of compass errors and flipping from GPS to ATTI and back. I was able to attach the camera to an Osmo and verify it still works, and I have other aircraft, so no big issue there.

Chipdji · Jul 15, 2019

Good thing you didn’t have these they would take your fingers right off. Personally I would use nothing else but CF props.

Forby · Jul 15, 2019

What exactly are the benefits to carbon fiber props? I’m a big believer in stock configuration. Because of this I have never really researched them. I can’t imagine it being significantly different. Please enlighten me so I don’t have to do a lot of research.. thanks.

Chipdji · Jul 15, 2019

They are quieter the bird is more responsive they don’t flex and they come perfectly balanced which means no vibration. Not to mention they just look **** good. A lot of people are using the foldable CF props as well which are nice. They are pricey but worth every penny in my opinion. There are lotta articles on here discussing CF props. People that have used them are quite happy with them.

Steve@AerialImagesPro · Jul 16, 2019

Petah said:
Initial damage assessment is one broken prop, however it's grounded until I can understand why this happened. I've reviewed the logs in airdata and there was no control input that would have caused this, but a bunch of compass errors and flipping from GPS to ATTI and back. I was able to attach the camera to an Osmo and verify it still works, and I have other aircraft, so no big issue there.

It was the compass errors. Compass errors cause major drift just like you described and is exactly why you shouldn’t take off, or fly, near large metallic objects (like a car). You said you put your Inspire in the parking spot next to you.

Had you known about that you would’ve been prepared to correct. This is also why having plenty of MANUAL flying experience is a must, but few people bother with. They just totally rely on the automated systems that can fail. And this is a great illustration of why BVLOS rules are in place.

snowghost · Jul 16, 2019

Could there have been some metal interference. I once had a Phantom go crazy after taking off from what must have had rebar in it.

Forby · Jul 16, 2019

Either way, you should be able to control the bird with compass error or gps failure. Stick and rudder is what we used to call it.

Chipdji · Jul 16, 2019

I know at one time a while back when I stood under a steel structure with picnic tables to block the sun once the drone got near that steel structure it seem like I didn’t have control over it until I walked out from under it

licensed pilot · Jul 16, 2019

Kirk Voclain said:
If you got that much damage from an Inspire 1.....DO NOT come in contact with an Inspire 2!!! It will be crazy worst!!

or my M600!

licensed pilot · Jul 16, 2019

DrBob said:
Another lesson - don't use carbon fiber blades. After all, they make knives out of that stuff. Imagine how much worse your injuries could have been. I bought a set, then read a similar warning, and never installed them.

Nothing wrong with carbon fiber props. These aircraft are not toy Mavics, they require (demand) proper LZ safety procedures and strict adherence to a checklist. I never fly with less than a 20 ft perimeter established.
Glad you didn't lose a finger. I fly like my aircraft is going to drop any second; I stay away from people and cars at all times. Launching next to your vehicle was more than likely to have been the issue (as supported by your flight log).