Seattle police are investigating after a drone crashed into the spokes of the Seattle Great Wheel and plummeted to the deck below Wednesday evening around 5 p.m.
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It’s unclear who was operating the aircraft, a police spokesman said.
Wayman Earls, the security manager of the attraction, reckons the perils of such an event. The DJI Phantom 3 drone hit the Giant Ferris Wheel then smashed through a plastic table. Fortunately, it’s already been closed for the winter.
“I can’t figure out why somebody would fly a drone so close to other human beings”, Michael Fuqua, who works at the Great Wheel, told NBC affiliate KING5. Last December, another drone took a picture of the Space Needle from 700 feet.
The incident has added weight to calls to introduce national registers for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
“The police have it, and we are looking for the owner”, Earls said.
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As the number of drone-related accidents increases, so drone liability has emerged as a field of law and drone injury lawyers are setting up websites to help people who have been “injured by drone”.
