Man decapitated by remote-controlled toy helicopter | Hacker News Reader

Man decapitated by remote-controlled toy helicopter

heraldsun.com.au

14 pointsKilo-byte13 comments

These aren't really 'toys'. They stop being toys when you buy them from the model shop instead of the toy shop. Couple of incidents from my youth:

A good friend of mine had a couple of bones smashed in his ankle after a fairly innocent looking Yokomo MR4 TC ploughed into his leg at around 40mph. Hospital, static cast, crutches for 2 months. No prop and wasn't even airborne.

Model rockets: these are the worst. I nearly killed someone with one after a fin snapped off (due to putting a E engine in a low D rated rocket) and it basically lost stability and went sideways missing someone's face by literally 3 inches. It had to be dug out of the mud due to the impact force.

This particular chopper incident was probably the guy being an idiot. I've seen it before. They hover their choppers inverted and do stunt rolls about 6 feet away from their heads. One bit of wind or a miscalculation and this happens.

However, we shouldn't stop playing with these things. We should just put safety first.

Pirozek developed a YouTube channel where he would post footage of various tricks and flights using a Trex 700 model helicopter. In one video, he drops the $1,500 model from above, only to restart the rotor just inches from his head. The helicopter's blade span measures 62 inches, its rotor spins at more than 2,000 rpm.

Well, that was fucking stupid. That's a rude thing to say, but his youtube channel is full of comments along the lines of 'he died doing what he loved...must have been something wrong with the helicopter, he was such a great pilot.' WTF.

Just saw one of his videos. And while he was a very skilled pilot, I wouldn't get within meters of those things while they were airborne and spinning at those speeds. Geez! What a waste for someone to have such skill and yet lack the simplest common sense.

hmm yeah indeed.everyone piloting those (this very kind of big helis that is - small quads in comparison are relatively harmless) know itll chop various parts of your body clean off.

then everyone piloting at that level know failures always happen. its not about if you crash, but when you crash. thats like the first rule of rc flying and its even more true when ot comes to helis.

This is very sad, and I feel for his loved ones. At the same time it's worth pointing out that these things command respect and sensible caution, as it is with pretty much any other hobby.

  > In one video, he drops the $1,500 model from above, only to restart the rotor 
  > just inches from his head.

My heart goes out to his family. It seems timely to point out that if you're out there flying any size or type of model aircraft (as another posted, not fair to call it a "toy") you should seriously consider joining the AMA[1].

It appears that this young man was a member and flying at a sanctioned location[2]. His family should receive $10,000 in death benefits from the club[3]. This hobby has the possibility for you to hurt yourself, someone else, or damage property and being a member provides a lot of benefits, even if you're just out flying in a park in some cases.

I hope they remain safe in future activities and they don't lose the right to fly.

[1] http://www.modelaircraft.org/

[2] http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/09/05/remote-control-he...

[3] http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/103.pdf

I imagine their insurer would probably only pay out it they weren't flying the giant chain saw next to their head...

This was more than avoidable.

note that similarly high performance rc cars sometimec shop feet off too, sadely - anything that relatively heavy and powerfull can hurt pretty bad.

Yeah, that's not a toy.

Agree. Solid blades being spun by a powerful motor? Not the sort of toy I would give to my kids.

You are absolutely right. I owned a RC sailplane (wingspan 2 meter), with an electric motor to get it up in the air. That motor had a sharp propellor on it, and was incredible powerful for its size; it was fearsome. It probably had enough power to cut off fingers.

Ouch.

I was at a model meet as a kid when a 1/10th scale plane careened into the crowd and sent a couple of people to the hospital but this is the first time I've read of an R/C model killing someone.

Sad for his family but, as sad as it sounds, frankly its better that he didn't take someone else's life. These are dangerous toys and soon enough we'll see heavy regulation.

I was surprised to learn that a lot of people are killed in Pakistan by kites http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4800004.stm

Reply on news.ycombinator.com