If you live in Michigan (USA), or specifically somewhere near Lake Michigan, then you might be curious to know that somewhere under the water lies a $1,000 government drone. How did it get there? Well, no, it didn’t run out of batteries! In a report via NBCNews, state officials have confirmed that while the drone was conducting a survey of the cliff areas, it was attacked (and disabled) by a bald eagle!
According to reports from the ‘Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’, the drone (specifically, a DJI Phantom 4 Pro Advanced quadcopter) was being operated to conduct a survey on the state/condition of the cliff fronts. It seems, however, that a Bald Eagle wasn’t too happy about being inadvertently spied upon.
While (sadly) no footage of the incident is currently available, it is understood that the Bald Eagle attacked the drone causing one of its propellers to dislodge. It then plunged into the water and despite some attempts, it has (so far) not been recovered. With it now officially being declared as ‘lost’, it seems unlikely that it ever will either!
Much to my modest surprise, instances such as this are (apparently) not as rare as you might think. While it’s unclear if the Bald Eagle thought the drone was a rival or food (or perhaps it was just having a bad day), the bottom line is that this near $1,000 drone has been completely taken out by a very angry bird!
On the plus side though, the Eagle has been reported as ‘unharmed’ from the incident and the state has confirmed that while a replacement drone will be purchased, they are looking into designs that might hopefully seem a little more benign to passing wildlife. If you do, however, fancy a little hunting in Lake Michigan, it seems that a very fancy (and expensive) drone might be up for grabs. Good luck in finding it though (Lake Michigan is over 22,000 square miles big!).
What do you think? Have you ever heard of something like this happening before? Are you already planning to organise a hunt for the downed craft? – Let us know in the comments!
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