'Dangerous' drone caught on camera flying close to fireworks crowd

Ontario visitorDavid Baker was walking up DavieStreet with thousands of other fireworks goers Wednesday nightwhen he noticed a drone flying just metresoverhead of the big crowd.

"This was highly dangerous," said Baker."I fly drones myself and have done some commercial work and Iknow the rules."

"The blades of a drone are spinning unbelievably fast and if they touch somebody they'll cut them, and can severely injure them," he said.

Baker shot a four-minute video of the drone and its operator and sent it to CBC.

"This particular drone was only five feet above people's heads and then flying straight up through the bus [trolley] wires. If it hit the wires it could have crashed on someone's head."

At one point in the video someone throws something at the drone, but it remains in flight.

Later, the operator, who identifies himself as a Vancouver Film School student, appears to lose sight of the device.

Vancouver Police confirmed they confiscated a drone that crash landedat Davie andDenman streets,narrowly missing a number of people. They could not say if it was the same drone that appears in Baker's video.

"At the peak last night we had five or six drones flying around which is a pretty dangerous situation," saidVPD spokesman Sgt. Randy Fincham. "We are going to be working with Transport Canada in regards to the seizure of the drone."

Transport Canada rules restricts dronesandoperators from flying "in populated areas or near large groups of people, including ... fireworks shows."

Regulations also specify that unmanned air vehicles (UVAs)not fly:

• Closer than nine kilometres from any airport.
• Near sporting events, concerts and festivals
• Near moving vehicles, highways, bridges, busy streets

"My feeling was he knew what the rules were, he was just flagrantly violating them," said Baker.

In December, world skichampion Marcel Hircshernarrowly escaped certain injury when a camera drone fell from the sky during a race in Italy.