Man Killed By His Own Radio-Controlled Helicopter In Brooklyn

An anonymous reader sends this news from the Wall Street Journal: "A 19-year-old model helicopter enthusiast was killed Thursday when a toy helicopter he was flying struck him in the head, a law-enforcement official said. Victim Roman Pirozek 'was known to be aggressive in his flying and often executed tricks. He was executing a trick when he was struck,' the official said. Mr. Pirozek – depicted in [this YouTube video] he posted in July — was flying a remote-controlled helicopter worth about $2,000 when it struck him, cutting off the top of his head, the official said. The Woodhaven, Queens, resident was pronounced dead at the scene. His father was with him at the time of the accident, the official said."

Comments

OUCH

[cod3r_]

Holy hell that's insane. What a way to go :(

Re:OUCH

[kimvette]

in MA that would definitely happen. As it is Nannychusetts now requires all dirt bikes and ATVs to be registered (even if used only on your own private property!) and no one under 16 may operate any such vehicles at any time (even under guardian supervision), except to train within 21 days of a sanctioned competition.

I see it now: all RC devices are now required to be registered and may not be operated by minors (even under guardian supervision) unless within one week of a sanctioned event.

Thankfully I don't live in People's Republik of Nannychusetts any more. I know NYC can be pretty draconian but they don't compare to the insanity of Nannychusetts, sugary drink ban notwithstanding.

Re:OUCH

[schneidafunk]

Well maybe this is the wrong crowd, but I feel sorry for the family. A kid just died, stupid as he may be.

“He was the best person ever. He had the biggest heart,” said Mr. Pirozek’s sister, Amy Pirozek. “I think he was just doing it because it was his day off.”

She said he worked as a cargo handler for an airline. “He always protected me,” she said. “He was a good brother. I’ll never forget that.”

Re:OUCH

[fahrbot-bot]

Maybe he was just trying a random stunt that he though up off the top of his head.

I see we have Ba'al fan:

• Ba'al: Apophis. Last of the System Lords to stand against me. What have you to say to your new sovereign?
• Apophis: May your reign last days, and your death, years.
• Ba'al: That's actually rather good, isn't it? Did you plan to say that when you walked in?
• [Ba'al cuts off the top of Apophis' head]
• Ba'al: Or was it just off the top of your head?

(Watch out for women with sharp knives...)

Re:OUCH

[s.petry]

Jokes about this kid getting hurt are about as funny as jokes about the Shuttle Columbia's last re-entry.

Humor is a method of learning, in addition to being a wonderful coping mechanism. While I am not a fan of certain types of jokes, I personally see nothing wrong with the jokes in this thread. Perhaps you prefer racial jokes, or find something else humorous that others have difficulty with. If you find no humor in anything, you are not really human.

Re:OUCH

[Solandri]

That's actually not that paranoid. The FAA has been working on guidelines for unmanned aircraft for the last year. The things people call r/c aircraft when you do it for fun, drones when the government does it for tracking/blowing up people. So far the rules they've come up with have been pretty lax (no rules or limitation on flights under 400 feet as long as it's kept away from populated areas and regular aircraft). But some people are opposed to the current rules and want greater restrictions or outright bans. Fatalities from r/c aircraft are nothing new, but this is the first time I've seen one get this much press. I haven't seen anything unusual or notable about this particular death compared to previous r/c accidents, yet for some reason the story has gone national.

Get Hurt Early Get Hurt Often

[wrackspurt]

I was a klutz, big hands, big feet, big head, small body, but I tried out for every sport and when I didn't make the teams I waited to be picked last for pickup games. I don't know if this guy missed out on team sports but maybe he did. Sports teach you you can get hurt. Computer games and remote controlled toys don't teach you about getting hurt. They don't instill caution.

Re:This Was News Yesterday

[TWX]

There are also procedures for using chainsaws, barbecue grills, and other things that can kill a person. There probably are procedures, at least minimal, CYA procedures for model aircraft too. That he wasn't following them is why he killed himself. Given his performance-nature of his stunts, think of it like the guy who juggles chainsaws, a not-recommended use of the device, that could, and in this case did, lead to injury and death.

I play with model rockets. Fairly big ones, I'm up into the "G" engine size, and we practice a certain amount of range safety. I've had factory-made engines explode on the pad and that 30' distance is very important, as are following procedures for hooking up the electrical wiring for the ignition. Even with rockets that have exploded on the pad, rockets that have broken up in-flight right after leaving the pad, and rockets that have caught on fire, no one has ever been hurt because we're not stupid enough to sit right next to the rocket when we fire it. The only real danger we have to face is rockets whose parachute ejection fails, and the rocket coming down like a javelin, which has happened a couple of times but nowhere in the vicinity of where anyone was at the time.

I feel sorry for the guy's family, but my sympathy is limited by the documented reckless behavior he's shown before.

Re:This Was News Yesterday

[TWX]

It sounds like he was doing some simple ground effect tricks, and the heli got too close and clipped him. It's actually a hobby and a sport, in which many hundreds of people participate. If you think doing tricks with model helis is 'documented reckless behavior', then I have nothing to say but "You must be a ton of fun at parties.."

No, I have my own dangerous hobbies. I've built engines, rebuilt carburetors and had my share of spontaneous combustion of some of them that I screwed up with, and had other automotive issues that were interesting to deal with when they cropped up. Nothing like a front tire blowout on a 30 year old truck at 75mph... Anyway, he cut part of his head off, his fault. I'm not saying that I would've told him to not do what he was doing, but I wouldn't have wanted to be around when he was doing it either. He did what he wanted to do, and it cost him everything.