An AIR7 HD helicopter was struck by an object, believed to be a drone, at 1,100 feet over downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night. The chopper had to make a precautionary landing.

At around 7:15 p.m., as the helicopter was flying over the downtown LA area, pilot and reporter Chris Cristi said that he and the crew heard and felt a bang as an object hit the tail of the chopper. ABC7 Eyewitness News reports the incident as the helicopter being struck by a drone, even though that has yet to be proven. The initial photos show significant damage to the AIR7 HD helicopter.

Update: it seems that ABC7 Eyewitness News has changed the title of their news story to: “AIR7 HD struck by suspected drone over downtown LA, makes precautionary landing.”

Update 2: NBC News reports: “Two FAA inspectors examined the helicopter this morning, the FAA said, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) requested that affected parts of the helicopter be removed and sent for analysis. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.”

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Drone pilot Reuben Burciaga was fined $20,000 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after his fly-away DJI Phantom 3 drone landed right next to an active runway at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. The drone incident took place in June of 2018 when Burciaga wanted to take an aerial photo of a Ferris wheel. Early on during the flight, he lost control of the DJI Phantom 3. The drone then slowly drifted for more than two miles towards the airport before landing right next to an active runway. The FAA issued the ‘careless and reckless” drone pilot a fine of $14,700 that increased to around $20,000 after Burciaga failed to pay or appeal on time. We have included the original video of the drone flight that was uploaded by Burciaga below.

Updated with the original flight logs of the DJI Phantom 3. You can download them here.

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The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to shoot down drones near airports, as we saw in our story from earlier today, to “mitigate” the risk the unmanned aircraft pose to air traffic. The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Federal Air Marshal Service would operate a Defense Department counter-unmanned-aircraft system, according to new plans. Two Republican lawmakers, however, protested against the proposed “Concept of Operations.”

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Last Thursday, a drone flew over a crash scene in Dover, Wisconsin, and interfered with first responders who were trying to transport injured people to local hospitals by helicopter. That night a minivan and a pickup truck were involved in a crash at the intersection of Highway J and Highway 11. Several people were injured, and the scene was described as chaotic. The intersection was shut down for five hours into Friday morning.

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According to experts, the reported drone sighting that shut down East Midlands Airport for about an hour might have been a bird. The police are still investigating reports of a drone sighting at the airport on Wednesday morning. Police said that ‘the movement’ of the unknown object suggested it might have been a drone, however one expert said it was “extremely unlikely” that a drone would have been able to fly so close to the airport.

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The alleged drone incidents took place over the weekend during the Download music festival at a nearby park. Supposedly three drones disrupted flights at the East Midlands airport. An investigation has been launched by detectives and one drone pilot has since been interviewed. We know from previous drone incidents that very often no proof of an actual drone has been provided, causing many industry insiders, including DJI, to warn people not to jump to conclusions. In this case, one drone pilot has bee interviewed. We will follow it closely to see if any drone evidence will surface.

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