4 tricks to avoid disasters with your drone

Every drone pilot knows it, from the very moment they start flying their drone and from the moment they are granted recognition as a SAPR Operator: that tool, so delicate and strong at the same time, sooner or later will have to go to the "doctor".
Whether for small repairs and extraordinary maintenance, for clumsy moves made during the first manoeuvres, or for routine maintenance based on common sense, from time to time your drone will have to go in for service.

However, small accidents that damage the drone must never lead to dangerous situations: the drone pilot's first and foremost commitment is to ensure that their work is never dangerous to property and people.

Before delving into the explanation of how to avoid accidents and real disasters with your work tool, let's start by giving three initial pointers and suggestions:

• Don't wait for an accident to happen: every year take your drone for a check-up to inspect the propellers, battery condition, gimbal stability, etc., also to foresee and prevent any in-flight failures.
  
  
• always equip yourself with a parachute suited to your needs

- if possible, buy the drone from companies that can also handle its routine and extraordinary maintenance and that, even better, can design and manufacture it according to your specific professional needs, since a cine operator will most likely run into different accidents than a surveyor or engineer.

Now let's look at how to prevent your drone from creating dangerous situations.

1 - Watch out for the battery

If you see a tongue of fire coming towards you, it is not the Holy Spirit looking for you, but it could be the second-rate battery you bought for your drone which, as has unfortunately happened to more than one unwary person, caught fire during flight.
This is a point on which it is never worth saving money. A second battery is necessary for particularly long services and operations, and many people make the mistake of buying a poor-quality, uncertified second battery.
This can cause damage to property and people as well as the total loss of your aircraft.

2 - Flight terminator: never without one

It happened recently in Pompeii, during an authorized flight in areas of archaeological interest: a drone left the planned flight area and the pilot's control, and the pilot, not having the flight terminator with him (a big, huge mistake, which ENAC will not easily forgive), lost sight of the aircraft. It ended up in the urban area, crashing to the ground once the battery ran out. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but such actions are not only dangerous but also increase the paranoia that sometimes surrounds multicopters, even those used for protecting the environment, human lives and cultural and environmental heritage.

It really takes very little not to fuel the witch hunt! Come on, a simple flight terminator can do a lot.

3 - Don't show off!

To fly high with a drone you have to keep your bravado low and be very careful. To work well you shouldn't be a loner, and you should get help from a second pilot. This is necessary for all operations, especially at the beginning of your career and especially in the most complex work situations: a co-pilot helps keep an eye on the aircraft while you are focused on the controls, for example.

4 - Don't defy the weather

It may seem trivial, but it is not always easy to tell a client, perhaps a new one, that the shooting day is off or has to be postponed because the weather forecast predicts gusts of wind or even thunderstorms. Also because not all clients are able to understand the problems of flying in unfavourable weather conditions. If they don't understand, calmly and politely, make them understand.
Even at the cost of having them sign a document in which the client takes responsibility for any accidents caused by weather conditions (this move is generally a deterrent that helps them better grasp the complexity of the flight situation).

Always fly safely: you will gain in money, in reputation and in new clients.