FEMA Grounds Private Drones That Were Helping To Map Boulder Floods

First time accepted submitter MrMagooAZ writes "An interesting article about a questionable reaction by FEMA in response to the flooding in Colorado. It seems a small firm was working free of charge with County officials to use drones to map the area and provide near-real-time maps of the flood damage. When FEMA took control of operations one of their first acts appears to have been to not only ground the drones, but threaten the operators. 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you?'" The drone model in question has permits from the FAA to be flown around even. The drones were replaced with manned craft that, due to the terrain, where unable to fly low enough to make useful maps.

That's because we have a big US Defense Drones

[Virtucon]

Yes, your little, puny drones are no match for our US Defense Contractor drones that have a staff of thousands and bases all over the world. Trust us, we're much more capable of doing this job once we get the emergency congressional appropriations bill through and sign a new contract with the firm to load the special cameras we should be able to start mapping in about two years. By then we'll have this situation well in hand.

"Every Nation gets the government it deserves" - Joseph de Maistre
 

What Do You Expect? It's FEMA.

[Jane Q. Public]

I don't remember when FEMA last responded promptly and appropriately to a disaster.

Wait... yes I do. Never.

Re:Well...

[The Grim Reefer]

Here. Let me explain that to you with a diagram: http://i.imgur.com/nSD3ofw.gif [imgur.com]

Call them R/C aircraft

[tepples]

Phil's Hobby Shop appears to get away with calling them radio control airplanes and helicopters [philshobbyshop.com].

Re:Not autonomous?

[Quasimodem]

Sure. What's your noun to define, in general, a remote controlled unmanned vehicle?

My wife following OnStar turn-by-turn directions in her Chevy. = starlost

But that's another story.