No criminal charges in drone crash that caused 52-acre Colorado fire

Now, here’s a good reminder of why following the rules should be paramount for any drone pilot. A drone recently crashed and sparked a wildfire in Colorado’s Boulder County – even forcing more than 300 people to evacuate their homes. But no charges are being pressed against the drone crew since they were flying “within regulations.”

The incident took place on April 20 at a time when Boulder County was experiencing unusual “critical to extreme” fire weather conditions. Since this was not normal for the region, three researchers associated with the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Aerospace Engineering Department decided to gather severe weather data using a fixed-wing drone at Table Mountain Radio Quiet Zone.

Unfortunately, their drone crashed at a high speed into the ground causing a lithium-ion battery cell to dislodge and ignite. The crew used an on-site fire extinguisher but were unable to get the grass fire stopped before it began to spread…