WHOA, That was CLOSE! Drone Pilots BEWARE! - Close Call with a Helicopter in BVI, CARIBBEAN

Yes, that was a close one… who would have thought that just enjoying an afternoon flight with my drone around one of the most remote anchorages in the BVI, that within minutes of landing and I was just starting to review footage, a private helicopter flew low altitude at no less than 60knots across the top of my mast and that of my friends that were also in the anchorage! I remember hearing the sound like thunder from inside the boat and thinking WHOA that was close! I immediately grabbed my camera which is always at the ready closeby, turned it on as I made my way up the companionway stairs, and by the time I reached the cockpit, only a few seconds later, the helicopter was already in a high-speed banking turn against the hill of the island next to us, and exact same place we had just been flying the drone only minutes before!

This was an eye opener for me, I’ve seen the helicopters fly low on approaches in and out of the airport, but could always hear them coming from considerable distance.. this time however, this helicopter came in from hillside and appeared in my airspace in a matter of a few seconds.. and I never would have had time to acknowledge its presence and return the drone safely to base prior to said helicopter potentially finding it right in the midst of its flight path.. and I can only imagine some of the potential consequences, but very glad this one had a happy ending.

Question is, how to prevent this from happening again.. and that’s a very good question since I wasn’t doing anything wrong, was perfectly in my right to be flying there, and I am even licensed to be filming anywhere in the BVI! So… this is a good question.. be interesting to see who has a good answer!

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