FAA Looking For Owner of Drone That Almost Hit Aero Med Helicopter

An incident that happened yesterday as the Aero Med helicopter was landing in the roof of Spectrum Butterworth Hospital, could have had a much different outcome.

Fox 17 reports that as the helicopter was trying to land on the roof of the hospital it narrowly missed colliding with a drone that was illegally flying in the area. After the Aero Med helicopter landed, the drone was still hovering around the landing pad and flew low enough to the crew, that one member actually grabbed the drone out of the air.

There’s a lot of rules surrounding drones, including the fact that it’s illegal to fly within five miles of various buildings including Spectrum Butterworth, according to Fox 17.  That rule alone would ban drones from being able to fly around the center of Downtown Grand Rapids.

The FAA and police are still trying to figure out who owns the drone that was involved in yesterday’s incident. According to the FAA website regarding drone flight, drones should be registered, as well as not interfering with manned aircraft. There’s actually more regarding flying drones, which if you plan to, you should definitely read up on the rules.

Fox 17 asks anyone who has information on the owner of the drone from yesterday to call the FAA at 616-954-6657.

You can watch the video of the incident - including around the 1-minute mark when the Aero Med crew member is able to reach out and grab the drone HERE.