NYPD Helicopter Flew at a Drone and Never Feared Crashing, Recording Confirms

[Oldgamer]

Link to the news article here

An air traffic control recording confirms that a New York Police Department helicopter flew at a drone hovering near the George Washington Bridge earlier this week—not the other way around. What's more, police had no idea what to charge the drone pilots with, and never appeared to fear a crash with the drone.

Two men, Wilkins Mendoza and Remy Castro, both of New York City, were arrested Monday on felony reckless endangerment charges after the NYPD said the two flew their drone "very close" to a law enforcement chopper, causing the police helicopter to take evasive maneuvers. Air traffic control recordings from LaGuardia airport posted by the website liveatc.net suggest that only happened after the chopper pilot decided to chase the drone.

"You know, we have the guys who were operating them. We really don’t know exactly what we have, maybe a reckless [endangerment]. Not sure what exactly we got," one of the officers on the recording said. "Seems to me, if they were at 1,000 feet, they'd have to be operating that thing recklessly, regardless of whether or not it was a toy."

Motherboard wasn't able to confirm the identities of the police officers in the recording. Liveatc.net regularly posts air traffic control recordings from around the country.



Initial reports and police statements suggested that the two were arrested for nearly crashing into the police helicopter. There's nothing in the recording to suggest that the helicopter pilot ever feared he'd crash, and there's nothing in the recording to suggest that a near collision is the reason the two were charged. The officer flying the helicopter originally believed it was a military drone.

To be sure, flying at 2,000 feet in New York City is incredibly stupid. But flying a police helicopter at a drone is at least as reckless. The police also suggest that the drone went from 0-2,000 feet in "less than two seconds," which is absurdly fast and almost certainly impossible with the DJI Phantom drone the pair was flying.

Here's how it went down:

At around 11:55 PM on Sunday night, NYPD contacted Air Traffic Control with reports of an aircraft that could "do vertical climbs pretty fast."

The copter followed the drone closely and then said the drone was flying above the helicopter.

"He has to be military. He's moving. He's right over top of us now, LaGuardia. He did a 180 really quick," the police officer said on the recording. "Going down the East River at this time. I just want to make sure it's not a drone."

An air traffic controller said there's "really gotta be a better way to maybe disable these guys."

The police officer in the copter confirmed it was, in fact, a drone. The Phantom is a popular, ready-to-fly drone sold online for around $500. The copter followed the drone while police on the ground found the pilots and booked the two men. At first, the narrative was that the pilots chased and nearly crashed into the police drone.

The New York Daily News caught up with one of the pilots and the brother of one of the pilots, who said that the police were "endgangering themselves."

"We have video proof that we are not following him, he's following us. He's endangering our lives and himself by following us," Jonathan Castro, one of the pilot's brothers, told the Daily News. "He's wasting taxpayers money following a little drone. He's wasting taxpayers' money. It's not our fault it's not illegal."

The air traffic control report suggests Castro's account is closer to the truth than the original NYPD narrative.

The police officer in the copter confirmed it was, in fact, a drone. The Phantom is a popular, ready-to-fly drone sold online for around $500. The copter followed the drone while police on the ground found the pilots and booked the two men. At first, the narrative was that the pilots chased and nearly crashed into the police drone.

The New York Daily News caught up with one of the pilots and the brother of one of the pilots, who said that the police were "endangering themselves."

"We have video proof that we are not following him, he's following us. He's endangering our lives and himself by following us," Jonathan Castro, one of the pilot's brothers, told the Daily News. "He's wasting taxpayers money following a little drone. He's wasting taxpayers' money. It's not our fault it's not illegal."

The air traffic control report suggests Castro's account is closer to the truth than the original NYPD narrative.

Here's a full transcript of the recording:

NYPD—What kind of contact do you have … at this time.

Tower—What do you mean, what kind of contact?

NYPD—I don’t know. We just had an aircraft do vertical climbs pretty fast.

Tower—I don’t see anything on the radar. About how high would you say it went?

NYPD—I'd say 0 to about 2,000 [feet] in less than two seconds. And he's got green and red now. He's going up Spuyten Duyval [bridge], northbound at this time.

Tower—Really? I don’t see anything on the radar. Im not seeing anything like that.

NYPD—He has to be military. He's moving. He's right over top of us right now, LaGuardia. He did a 180 really quick. Going down the east river at this time. I just want to make sure its not a drone.

Tower—I’ll look out the window.

NYPD—LaGuardia we are 800 feet and he is level with us at this time.

Tower—He's level.

NYPD—Going Spuyten Duyval to the [George Washington Bridge]. He's got to be a drone.

Tower—Roger that.

NYPD—He's got red and green lights. Hes trucking, hes moving fast.

LaGuardia, definitely a drone. Hes going up the streets now between buildings.

Tower—Ok, all right. Man, theres really gotta be a better way to maybe disable these guys.

NYPD—We are going to stay here and figure out where he puts it.

Tower—Take your time, you’re the only ones in the air.

NYPD—Will do. Yeah, we got drone activity at the GW Bridge. We are trying to walk an RMP [remote mobile patrol] into it. We got the guys operating it on the ground. Hopefully we can get these guys collared up.

Tower—In the vicinity of the GW? They were at the GW. Now I got three, four, coming up to Fairview and 193, vicinity of.

Tower—All right, you want me to do anything from here.

NYPD—Nope, just letting you know.

NYPD—Ok we got these guys are saying these are just toys but these drones were flying in vicinity of [George Washington Bridge]. They buzz around us as well.

Tower—All right what altitude were you guys at.

NYPD—These things were well over 2,000 feet. They were above us at 1,000.

Tower—You still have a visual.

NYPD—No, we've got custody, we've locked the [radio mobile patrol police cars] into them. You know, we have the guys who were operating them. We really don’t know exactly what we have, maybe a reckless. Not sure what exactly we got.

Tower—All right 10-4.

NYPD—Just so you know there was a class given to lt perez, I don’t know if you want to disturb him or not, but he had all the info on that.

Tower—All right 10-4 thank you.

NYPD—Tiny little, we got them on the ground now. Tiny little drones with four blades on it. But, yeah, It was all the way over the GW. Now we are all the way over at Spuyten Duyval flying two miles away to 2,000 feet.

NYPD—They are with them right now, but we don’t even know what we have.

NYPD—Definitely, we just don’t know what kind of crime we have right now.

NYPD—Seems to me, if they were at 1,000 feet, they'd have to be operating that thing recklessly, regardless of whether or not it was a toy.

Again, not very bright to fly a drone near a bridge—but reports that the drone actively flew at the police helicopter appear to be outright false.

-----------------------------------------------

I find it interesting that the local police departments are trying so hard to outlaws people flying their toy helicopters and toy drones. They are already arresting people for flying toy drones/heli's over police while they pull people over or stop for a detainment. They seem to fear cameras from above watching them.

But this case in my opinion is just police looking for ANY reason to arrest and charge these two kids.

 

[cabri]

FAA already prohibits drones if flying outside the line of sight of the controller

 

[realibrad]

FAA already prohibits drones if flying outside the line of sight of the controller

I must have missed the part where it says that the drone left the site of the people.

 

[MongGrel]

The fact of the matter is you could have explosives on one of those things.

The way things are they are going to check things like that out these days, and should be.

 

[Zargon]

The fact of the matter is you could have explosives on one of those things.

The way things are they are going to check things like that out these days, and should be.

checking it out is one thing, arresting people without a charge is another...

 

[Genx87]

Shocking, the police lied.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Shocking, the police lied.

This. Cops acting recklessly and their higher ups acting even worse by covering for them... SHOCKING! "Rot at the core spreads outward."

 

[justoh]

I must have missed the part where it says that the drone left the site of the people.

what would be the point of a stationary drone? some people...

 

[Attic]

Anybody flown one of those phantoms with a go pro? They are not big.


Sounds like pilot freaked out and ran with the freak out. Deceiving on the events, pretty low. There needs to be special reprimanding for when officers tasked to uphold the law do this.

 

[irishScott]

The fact of the matter is you could have explosives on one of those things.

The way things are they are going to check things like that out these days, and should be.

The fact of the matter is RC planes and helicopters have been around for decades and flying them can be mastered by any child over age 8; the only new development is quadcopters and wifi have lowered the learning curve substantially. That said your garden variety quadcopter sold from a mall kiosk doesn't come with manual trim adjustment and relies on very precise tolerances for stabilityand weight, so if you tape so much as a few quarters onto it you'll have issues flying it straight. Strap some plastic explosive + remote detonator and it'll be near impossible to fly (in terms of both stability and max altitude) unless you've got an expensive model or can hack the firmware to create your own trim adjustment. Plus getting a live feed from a camera still requires wifi and is thus extremely range-limited, this $500 model advertises a whopping 328 feet for first person video, and that's presumably under ideal conditions.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ntom_fc40.html

So yeah it's possible, but not likely. Besides terrorists are usually all about making a statement and getting attention, not anonymously assassinating small groups of people. I could perhaps see Gaza militants and other third world shitholes using such devices as a poor man's tow missile, but that's about it.

 

[irishScott]

Anybody flown one of those phantoms with a go pro? They are not big.


Sounds like pilot freaked out and ran with the freak out. Deceiving on the events, pretty low. There needs to be special reprimanding for when officers tasked to uphold the law do this.

It's the NYPD, one of the nation's most powerful police forces. Power corrupts even the best intentioned people to some degree, and most people don't have the best intentions.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

 

[Attic]

Closer look at Phantom 2

Win.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Or be falsely accused and arrested.

 

[tweaker2]

Closer look at Phantom 2

Win.

Dayyyuuuummm! I jus' got'stuh get me wunna dose lil' darlins.

Seriously, it's on my Xmas shopping list. And if the wifey objects, I'm gonna upgrade the desire into my bucket list and surely she can't refuse me then.

 

[Exterous]

The fact of the matter is you could have explosives on one of those things.

The way things are they are going to check things like that out these days, and should be.

You can put explosives in almost anything - cars, strollers, rice cookers. Does this mean we must follow and check out everything that could be explosive containing? I would think not

 

[piasabird]

There are also FAA rules for near misses and flying helicopters near other aircraft. Maybe all Drones should have identification markings and transponders.

 

[tweaker2]

Well, it's this old thing about attempting to find a balancing point between the freedoms we have and the restrictions we place on those freedoms in the interest of national security.

Then add to this recipe new and emerging technologies that affect this balance one way or another, with our security forces endlessly playing catch-up from the effects of being burdened down by the personal agenda laden bureaucratic processes.

Voila! The perfect recipe producing the perfect dish for why our local constabulary are always behind the technology curve.

 

[Zargon]

so that little thing did 0-2000 ft in 2 seconds? *sough* bullshit*cough cough*

 

[cabri]

FAA already prohibits drones if flying outside the line of sight of the controller

I must have missed the part where it says that the drone left the site of the people.

The article does not state/indicate either way.

My statement was a comment, not an accusation.

 

[Oldgamer]

so that little thing did 0-2000 ft in 2 seconds? *sough* bullshit*cough cough*

Yea I suspect that this is an over exaggeration of the pilots/police. They clearly were following it and were pretty low. Like I said they look for any excuse to arrest people and they will trump up charges in almost every case. This is complete over kill and a total waste of taxpayer money. They want to scare ppl with all this crap about 'security' and possible explosive device when most toy copter handlers know this thing would have to be much bigger to even carry such weight and fly that high.