8 ms·

an 18 year old in the NYC area actually was decapitated by one of those hobbytist copters about 2 months ago. Yes, [one of the reports says] Decapitated. http:

an 18 year old in the NYC area actually was decapitated by one of those hobbytist copters about 2 months ago. Yes, [one of the reports says] Decapitated. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/teen-killed-remote-controlled-helicopter-slices-throat-article-1.1447068 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/teen-killed-remot... http://nypost.com/2013/09/05/man-decapitated-by-remote-controlled-toy-helicopter/ http://nypost.com/2013/09/05/man-decapitated-by-remote-contr... They're already incredibly dangerous. That trick helicopter just needs one uncontrolled bounce and hit a person and someone will have very very unpleasant day. Quadricopters seem much easier to make safe afaict.

InclinedPlane 13y ago
To clarify, he wasn't decapitated, he was hit in the head which caused fatal injuries. Overall such helicopters are not insanely dangerous, when operated incorrectly they can be hazardous, but that's also true of ordinary lawn mowers.
- carterschonwald 13y ago
  Someone died. let us not quibble. edit: One of the above articles explicitly says decapitation. If someone has a coroners report i'm all ears
  - lowboy 13y ago
    > an 18 year old in the NYC area actually was decapitated ... Yes, Decapitated. Let us not sensationalize when we don't know the facts either, shall we?
    - DanBC 13y ago
      It's a quote from a news report.
      - lowboy 13y ago
        This is the only quote from those two news articles that contains "decapitation", and indeed the only instance of the word: > “I was playing at the park and we came into the clearing and we just saw a body on the floor,” said Maria Delgado, 13. “He was just decapitated — the whole top of his head was gone,”
  - orik 13y ago
    The difference in decapitation and blunt force trama is huge. People die every day. Being squeamish is no excuse for not reporting accurate and honest information.
    - jessedhillon 13y ago
      What is your basis for disagreement here? OP pointed to something which literally uses the word "decapitation" what leads you to believe that it's an erroneous use?
      - icebraining 13y ago
        Having seen the picture, I can assure you it wasn't decapitation. I can also say I regretted looking at it, and strongly advise against it.
      - lowboy 13y ago
        Because the article quotes someone who has a misunderstanding of the word "decapitation": > “I was playing at the park and we came into the clearing and we just saw a body on the floor,” said Maria Delgado, 13. “He was just decapitated — the whole top of his head was gone,”
  - yoodenvranx 13y ago
    There were pictures on /r/morbidreality (better don't go there) which are said to be from this incident. It was no decapitation but a severe head trauma.
  - lowboy 13y ago
    Searching those two pages yielded one instance of "decapitation": > “I was playing at the park and we came into the clearing and we just saw a body on the floor,” said Maria Delgado, 13. “He was just decapitated — the whole top of his head was gone,” So I think it's safe to say that a witness report from a 13-year-old who misuses the word "decapitation" doesn't make for a good source.
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
  Hey, lawn mowers can't dodge about in 3 dimensions at insane speeds. Hard to weaponize a lawnmower. However, that helicopter seems ideal for antipersonnel rapid assault. Add an ounce of C4 and how could you defend against it?
  - bradleyland 13y ago
    If we assume symmetric forces, we could assume that the defending force knows of the technology and has developed countermeasures. Yes, an R/C copter flying like this would be difficult(-ish) [1] for a human to shoot down, but for an automated defense system, it would be trivial. They are fragile, and they simply don't move that fast compared to many other weapons. A conventional mortar operated by a well trained crew is more difficult to defend against. If you're talking about asymmetric forces, then it's a different ballgame, but I'm still not convinced that there aren't innovative defenses. I saw a game show (of sorts) some time ago where engineers competed to develop a solution to a problem given a very limited set of resources. Some of the ideas the contestants came up with blew my mind. 1: And I still don't think it would be all that hard for someone who is talented with a shotgun.
    - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
      Ok then attack with 2 of them, or 3. Its hard for an unalerted human to defend against a fast-moving strike drone flock. Against a civilian - no hope.
      - bradleyland 13y ago
        > Its hard for an unalerted human to defend against a fast-moving strike drone flock. Against a civilian - no hope. So what? It's hard for an unalerted human to defend against a fastpitch baseball to the head too. Because something is deadly doesn't make it practical. My point is that this is a nonsensical threat (suicide drones) that will not be developed because there are so many effective, and much cheaper methods of neutralizing targets. I'm not saying weaponized drones aren't a future threat. I'm saying that C4-strapped, wildly-aerobatic weaponized drones are Hollywood threats, not real world threats. The dumb alternatives (bullets, mortars, etc) are too effective and too inexpensive, and the weapons that are high-tech will use more sophisticated attack vectors (like what we're already seeing).
- lsaferite 13y ago
  Well, in his case he was an experienced acrobatic RC heli pilot flying in a sanctioned location. Freak accidents happen and when it involves a large scale RC heli, things can go bad very fast. Heck, even medium-large quadrotors can rend flesh quite easily and the small ones can do enough damage to make you respect them afterwards. I have a micro sized quad I fly in my yard because I'm not comfortable flying the larger ones anywhere near people. EDIT: Also, according to witnesses, the top of his head was 'gone', so while not decapitated I guess, it was basically the same (if not worse).

InclinedPlane 13y ago

To clarify, he wasn't decapitated, he was hit in the head which caused fatal injuries. Overall such helicopters are not insanely dangerous, when operated incorrectly they can be hazardous, but that's also true of ordinary lawn mowers.

carterschonwald 13y ago
Someone died. let us not quibble. edit: One of the above articles explicitly says decapitation. If someone has a coroners report i'm all ears
- lowboy 13y ago
  > an 18 year old in the NYC area actually was decapitated ... Yes, Decapitated. Let us not sensationalize when we don't know the facts either, shall we?
  - DanBC 13y ago
    It's a quote from a news report.
    - lowboy 13y ago
      This is the only quote from those two news articles that contains "decapitation", and indeed the only instance of the word: > “I was playing at the park and we came into the clearing and we just saw a body on the floor,” said Maria Delgado, 13. “He was just decapitated — the whole top of his head was gone,”
- orik 13y ago
  The difference in decapitation and blunt force trama is huge. People die every day. Being squeamish is no excuse for not reporting accurate and honest information.
  - jessedhillon 13y ago
    What is your basis for disagreement here? OP pointed to something which literally uses the word "decapitation" what leads you to believe that it's an erroneous use?
    - icebraining 13y ago
      Having seen the picture, I can assure you it wasn't decapitation. I can also say I regretted looking at it, and strongly advise against it.
    - lowboy 13y ago
      Because the article quotes someone who has a misunderstanding of the word "decapitation": > “I was playing at the park and we came into the clearing and we just saw a body on the floor,” said Maria Delgado, 13. “He was just decapitated — the whole top of his head was gone,”
- yoodenvranx 13y ago
  There were pictures on /r/morbidreality (better don't go there) which are said to be from this incident. It was no decapitation but a severe head trauma.
- lowboy 13y ago
  Searching those two pages yielded one instance of "decapitation": > “I was playing at the park and we came into the clearing and we just saw a body on the floor,” said Maria Delgado, 13. “He was just decapitated — the whole top of his head was gone,” So I think it's safe to say that a witness report from a 13-year-old who misuses the word "decapitation" doesn't make for a good source.
JoeAltmaier 13y ago
Hey, lawn mowers can't dodge about in 3 dimensions at insane speeds. Hard to weaponize a lawnmower. However, that helicopter seems ideal for antipersonnel rapid assault. Add an ounce of C4 and how could you defend against it?
- bradleyland 13y ago
  If we assume symmetric forces, we could assume that the defending force knows of the technology and has developed countermeasures. Yes, an R/C copter flying like this would be difficult(-ish) [1] for a human to shoot down, but for an automated defense system, it would be trivial. They are fragile, and they simply don't move that fast compared to many other weapons. A conventional mortar operated by a well trained crew is more difficult to defend against. If you're talking about asymmetric forces, then it's a different ballgame, but I'm still not convinced that there aren't innovative defenses. I saw a game show (of sorts) some time ago where engineers competed to develop a solution to a problem given a very limited set of resources. Some of the ideas the contestants came up with blew my mind. 1: And I still don't think it would be all that hard for someone who is talented with a shotgun.
  - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
    Ok then attack with 2 of them, or 3. Its hard for an unalerted human to defend against a fast-moving strike drone flock. Against a civilian - no hope.
    - bradleyland 13y ago
      > Its hard for an unalerted human to defend against a fast-moving strike drone flock. Against a civilian - no hope. So what? It's hard for an unalerted human to defend against a fastpitch baseball to the head too. Because something is deadly doesn't make it practical. My point is that this is a nonsensical threat (suicide drones) that will not be developed because there are so many effective, and much cheaper methods of neutralizing targets. I'm not saying weaponized drones aren't a future threat. I'm saying that C4-strapped, wildly-aerobatic weaponized drones are Hollywood threats, not real world threats. The dumb alternatives (bullets, mortars, etc) are too effective and too inexpensive, and the weapons that are high-tech will use more sophisticated attack vectors (like what we're already seeing).
lsaferite 13y ago
Well, in his case he was an experienced acrobatic RC heli pilot flying in a sanctioned location. Freak accidents happen and when it involves a large scale RC heli, things can go bad very fast. Heck, even medium-large quadrotors can rend flesh quite easily and the small ones can do enough damage to make you respect them afterwards. I have a micro sized quad I fly in my yard because I'm not comfortable flying the larger ones anywhere near people. EDIT: Also, according to witnesses, the top of his head was 'gone', so while not decapitated I guess, it was basically the same (if not worse).