Drone News: Pilot Loses Control Over Stadium, Update on Shot Down Police Drone, New L2 LIDAR

Welcome to your weekly news update, we have 3 stories for you this week, Drone pilot loses control of drone over stadium, an update on the man who shot down the police M300, and DJI releases new L2 LIDAR

The first story this week is a drone that flew over a college football game, resulting in players evacuating the field. This occurred in Columbus, Ohio when Rigoberto Canaca Escoto flew a drone he purchased the day before at best buy over the stadium. Upon returning to Escoto, Columbus counter terrorism police were able to track the drone back to the pilot. Escoto admits he had no knowledge of basic UAS safety, hadn’t take TRUST, and that he lost both control of the aircraft for about 3 minutes while over the stadium and line of sight. Escoto has been charged in Franklin County, OH with: Unsafe operation of aircraft in a careless or reckless manner, Two counts of aircraft operation without a license, Inducing panic by committing an offense with reckless disregard, And disorderly conduct in a physically offensive condition. Yikes. Next up is an update on a story we talked about nearly two years ago. If you’re unfamiliar with this story, a man in Florida named Wendell Goney shot down a Lake County Sheriff’s M300 drone in 2021. According to the man, the drone was “Harassing him”, however Lake County Sheriff was investigating reports of a burglary at a nearby 10 acre wear house. The man is a 29 time convicted felon, who now faces 10 years in prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition. So don’t be either of these guys, don’t shoot drones down and don’t fly over stadiums in TFRs. Final story this week is the Zenmuse L2 LIDAR from DJI! The new L2 is compatible with both the Matrice 300 and the Matrice 350. When compared to the L1, the L2 increases detection range by 30% with a reduced spot size of 4x12 cm at 100m. The L2 has a maximum point cloud rate of 240,000 points per second and a 20MP 4/3 CMOS with a mechanical shutter. The L2 isn’t as expensive as other LIDAR units, coming in at “only” $13,560 according to DJI’s website for the basic combo. Pretty cool device, and maybe we’ll get our hands on one eventually! Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week! https://dronexl.co/2023/10/11/felon-shoots-down-sheriff-drone/ https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/ohio-state-university/pilot-arrested-after-losing-control-of-drone-over-ohio-stadium-during-buckeyes-game-records-say/ https://dronexl.co/2023/10/10/dji-zenmuse-l2/