An NYPD helicopter had an 800- feet-high near-miss with a drone as the cops searched for a missing teenage girl in Brooklyn early Wednesday, law-enforcement sources told The Post. Just before 1 a.m., the chopper was hovering over 1240 Greene Ave. in Bushwick when it was forced to suddenly change course because of the drone, sources said.
The 83rd Precinct was notified, and Isaac Rosa, 34, was arrested for illegally operating the remote-controlled DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter, equipped with a GoPro camera, sources said.
“These drones pose a safety threat to aircraft and the people on board because the pilots do not know they are in their flight pattern,” a law-enforcement source said.
Rosa, who lives nearby on Central Avenue, was arrested on reckless endangerment and obstructing governmental administration charges.
He was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court last night and released on $1,500 bail. He denied that flying his drone was against the law.
“I am very disappointed that they are trying to make an example out of me,” Rosa said. “At the end of the day, this is not an illegal activity.”
On Sunday, Rosa posted a 16-second video on Facebook showing elevated shots of Coney Island and the Wonder Wheel clearly recorded by a drone, which is against FAA rules.
“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Rosa wrote in the post.
The FAA could bring additional charges against Rosa for flying the unmanned aircraft near La Guardia Airport — which was five miles away — and in prohibited “Class B” airspace.
Under the FAA’s “model aircraft” guidelines, the tiny remote-controlled machines must not interfere with manned aircraft or fly within five miles of an airport without prior notification.
“The FAA is investigating a report that a small unmanned aircraft system was flying approximately five miles south of La Guardia Airport at 12:45 am. today,” the agency told The Post in a statement.
Rosa was flying a DJI Phantom Quadcopter drone.
The FAA plans to introduce a new law regarding drone usage later this year, sources said.
The hovering gizmos have become increasingly popular in New York skies.
Earlier this month, 34-year-old Daniel Feighery was nabbed for allegedly piloting a drone near the US Open at the National Tennis Center in Queens.
In July, Remy Castro, 23, and Wilkins Mendoza, 34, were arrested after allegedly flying two drones that nearly took out another NYPD chopper over the George Washington Bridge.
Photo: Isaac Rosa is arraigned Wednesday night after flying a drone too close to an NYPD helicopter – Byron Smith
Source: New York Post
hm,
first of all if Isaac would have loaded the last firmware into the Phantom he could not have flown 800 feet high. he would have had trouble taken off in class B airspace.
he is not the first and will not be the last.
800 feet is clearly out of line of sight and a nypd bird in the air….. well you can see that one.
my advice for Isaac is to read the ama rules as they apply here….. and guess what he will see that he is at fault and will not be hung out to dry.
clearly he is not a safe uav pilot and should be grounded
800 feet is till visual depending on the craft. in this case with a default white phantom depending on the time of day one could still have line of site.
Now if he was not commercial flying the rules are fairly clear, as to the approximate 5 miles form the airport because they do not have exact that is in his favor, approximate is not enough to charge him. posting videos on line is not a crime as long as its not for money.
Interfering with police helicopter depending on the distance from the helicopter to the drone that is debatable. a near miss in one pilots mind could be just lights ahead of him 100’s of meters away. If the pilots have not video and the drone has not video of how close one could only speculate what the pilot thought or saw. Now if the drone did indeed come up on helicopter than yes the kid should be held accountable. however if the drone was out hovering away and the helicopter approached it than the helicopter would be the one at fault for undo care and attention. using the “does not interfere with aircrafts” clause under recreational is basically their open ended way to give rights to the pilots. Although one could argue that if the quad was hovering it was the pilots that put themselves in danger by approaching the recreational vehicle. Although the kid should have seen that if he was truly watching. My thoughts as a commercial drone operator is that perhaps its time for police to ground copters all together and put drones up if they are worried about drones. this would save money, unnecessary risks, and allow for better searching than any helicopter could do. Just my thoughts. I am however concerned however with stores like amazon and other outlets that sell off the shelf products with no training or education on laws which I think is the primary reason these types of things are happening.