I am with @Harleydude on this one. I am an aviation insurance broker so I see aviation accidents all the time. While I have hundreds of both manned and unmanned clients, I have never had an unmanned client die or kill someone when flying. However, I have seen many of deaths on the manned side. I am not trying to start a debate with this statement either. Just sharing anecdotal information from my profession.
Do not get me wrong. The potential for injury from a falling UAV/UAS/drone is definitely real (especially with larger rigs). However, I think regulators, the media, and the general public have overblown the risk for various reasons (fear of litigation, to sell news / entice website clicks, and fear of something new). Also, on the other hand, I have seen large settlements paid out by insurance companies due to relatively minor injuries caused by UAS operations. I feel that this is due to the litigious nature of people in the US. Everyone is looking for a payday at someone else's expense.
Furthermore, no one thinks it will happen to them, until it does. This also goes for manned and unmanned pilots. You can be the most practiced pilot in the world and still have an accident.
Do not get me wrong. The potential for injury from a falling UAV/UAS/drone is definitely real (especially with larger rigs). However, I think regulators, the media, and the general public have overblown the risk for various reasons (fear of litigation, to sell news / entice website clicks, and fear of something new). Also, on the other hand, I have seen large settlements paid out by insurance companies due to relatively minor injuries caused by UAS operations. I feel that this is due to the litigious nature of people in the US. Everyone is looking for a payday at someone else's expense.
Furthermore, no one thinks it will happen to them, until it does. This also goes for manned and unmanned pilots. You can be the most practiced pilot in the world and still have an accident.
