Russian guards stop a drone delivery

http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20170904/280026837.html

"MOSCOW, September 4 (RAPSI, Yelizaveta Ponomareva) – Officers of the Federal Penitentiary Service in the Stavropol region of Russia have arrested a man who attempted to transport objects banned for inmates of a local prison using a quadcopter, the Service’s press service informs on Monday.
The quadcopter was loaded with cellular phones, battery chargers, and various mobile phone paraphernalia, according to the statement.
The offence could be stopped due to the guards’ vigilance, who spotted the quadcopter."

So apparently they didn't shoot the drone down or anything?  Just somehow grabbed it and the pilot?  Good work!

drones for emergency responders; working well!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/responders-drones-harvey-rescues-49606893

Drones used during floods, for fire departments, search and rescue, etc.

Just make sure the idiots aren't out there flying around when they're not supposed to be.

Drones save lives in Tanzania

https://www.iafrikan.com/2017/08/31/tanzania-becomes-the-latest-country-to-use-zipline-drones-for-medical-supplies-deliveries/

"Tanzania has become the latest country to partner with Zipline as it has launched the world’s largest drone delivery service. The service will provide emergency on-demand access to critical and life-saving medicines.
This comes after Rwanda kicked-off its medical supplies delivery service by Zipline drones in October 2016. Subsequently, in January 2017, Tanzania announced that it will be partnering with Zipline to trial drone medicine deliveries."

The paradox of banning drones in Houston

http://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-military-your-drones-are-hindering-emergency-harvey-rescue-operations

"Texas military officials are begging Texan drone pilots to get their gadgets out of the sky, because they’re interfering with rescues.'#ALERT: We are seeing civilian drones that pose EXTREME risks to our rescue pilots and crews in high need areas,' the Texas Military Department tweeted from an account that links to the official site, which represents the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and the Texas State Guard."

But on the other hand...

http://gizmodo.com/hurricane-harvey-drone-footage-is-absolutely-heartbreak-1798490793

"We’ve all seen plenty of heartbreaking images from Texas this weekend, as vicious floods continue to destroy lives and property in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. But some of the most chilling footage has been taken from the sky, as hobby drones in the region document the devastation that’s still taking place.
Modern technology like social media and smartphone cameras now bring images of natural disasters to people around the world in an instant. And with this decade’s rise of drones, the bird’s eye view has become nearly as ubiquitous as any other."

 So to document the flood, drones are almost essential. But they can get in the way of rescue flights.  What to do?  Coordination seems to be the only way around that.  I'm not sure the best way has been found yet.

and here is Forbes.com weighing in.

drone used to guide rescuers

http://www.thedrive.com/aerial/13579/virginia-first-responders-use-quadcopter-drones-to-help-rescue-injured-logger

"According to media reports, the logger became trapped when a tree fell onto his hand. Due to the geography of the environment, Danville Life Saving Crew opted to launch their recently-acquired drones. DLSC assistant director Bryan Fox told news outlets his crew had recently become certified as drone pilots, and seized the opportunity to utilize the new tool.
While responding to the call, members of the Danville Life Saving Crew constructed a strategy of how to rescue the injured logger. When rescue efforts began, Fox piloted a drone to safely guide the rescue boat to the worker. Due to heavy amounts of debris and rocks, the drone was able to see what the boat operators were not. The drone was also used to help guide members up the embankment."

Now that will catch on I'm sure. A search and rescue guy here told me, though, that they don't plan on using drones for some kind of legal liability reason.

whale watching with a quadcopter

This is a case where a quadcopter can do something pretty much nothing else can.

drone and plane almost collide in Israel

https://www.rt.com/news/399697-passenger-jet-drone-near-collision-israel/

"Quick-thinking pilots were forced to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid colliding with a multi-rotor drone while preparing to land at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
The plane, with up to 180 passengers, was en route from Romania when the incident occurred and, thanks to the actions of the pilots, made a safe landing."

And this dork got in trouble;