A cold eagle took down a government drone in Michigan, officials said Thursday.
The raptor struck the Phantom 4 Pro Advanced quodcopter drone at about 162 feet in the air on July 21, “tore off a propeller and sent the plane to the bottom of Lake Michigan,” according to the State Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and energy.
“The attack could have been a territorial shrinkage with the electronic enemy, or just a hungry eagle,” the department said.
An environmentalist and drone pilot for environmental quality, Hunter King, was mapping the erosion of the shore at Lake Michigan with the device, which flew at 22 km / h, when it started swirling out of control and he saw a eagle that flew away, it said.
A bird-watching couple who were nearby said it saw the nobility flying and appeared unharmed to fly away, department officials said.
A search for the drone days later was unsuccessful. The device was 150 feet offshore, in about 4 feet of Lake Michigan water, the department said.
A state drone coordinator, Authur Ostaszewski, used a kayak and snorkeling gear in his fruitless search, state officials said.
The $ 950 drone is obsolete and will be replaced by a newer model, the department said.
Bird droppings are not uncommon for drones. The Federal Aviation Administration has studied the problem in depth, including analyzing impact with simulated birds.
Technology publication 3D Insider last year published a guild for amateur drone operators on how to prevent bird strikes.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said that one idea that is explorable is the use of covers for the devices that would make them less than saws.
