Bald Eagle Destroys Government Drone Worth $995 In Michigan

There's some kind of metaphor in here somewhere. Back in July, a bald eagle - the national symbol of the USA - attacked and destroyed a government drone that was flying over Michigan.

Environmental quality analyst and drone pilot Hunter King was mapping shoreline erosion near Escanaba in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with a Phantom 4 Pro Advanced quodcopter from 162 feet in the air when the drone was attacked by the bird of prey, sending the drone plummeting into Lake Michigan.

King had been flying the drone for about seven minutes when he began to experiences reception difficulties with it, so pressed the button to recall the device to its point of origin.

As the drone, which was worth $995, was making its return journey at a speed of 22 miles per hour, however, it was attacked by the eagle and sent into a downward spiral.

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In the 3.5 seconds it took to crash into the water, the drone sent 27 warning notifications, including one relaying that a propeller was missing.

The incident - which was confirmed by the Department Of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy - was seen by a couple who were bird-watching nearby and who told King they saw the eagle strike something in the air.

PA

While the eagle appeared to fly away without any obvious injuries, mapping data revealed the drone wasn't quite so lucky - it landed 150ft offshore in four feet of water. Officials were unable to recover the device.

The department is now looking into what it can do to reduce the possibility of similar attacks happening in the future, including the possibility of using skins or other designs on their drones to make them look less like potential prey - especially because the eagle population in the state of Michigan has risen drastically over the past few decades.

A US Fish and Wildlife Service survey taken in 2019 showed there were 849 active nesting sites in Michigan - up greatly from a low point of 76 in the 1970s.

"The attack could have been a territorial squabble with the electronic foe," a statement on the EGLE website read, "or just a hungry eagle."

Topics: US News

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa is a freelance journalist usually based in either New York or London. He has written for Kerrang!, Record Collector, NME, the New York Observer and FLOOD magazine, among others. Contact him at [email protected]