# Model aircraft fatalities
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 18, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500 "2003-09-18T23:37:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/1 "2003-09-18T23:37:28Z")
How many people have been killed by radio controlled aircraft? How about r/c helicopters? A little radio interference could get nasty with those whirring blades…
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### Author:  [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/2 "2003-09-19T01:14:20Z")
I’ll bite -
Try either the NTSB’s database or Darwinawards - my guess is that either is equally likely to list such fatalities.
Think Newton’s third - 10 lb model (that would be a BIG model) vs. 150 lb human - model stops, human doesn’t.
Think torque - how much torque do you suspect a model a/c engine outputs?
Think strength of materials - models don’t use hard, heavy parts - which leads to a consideration of inertia - there isn’t much there.
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### Author:  [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/3 "2003-09-19T01:29:50Z")
It happens, but not too often. In an issue of the [MODEL AERONAUTICAL ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC. Newsletter](http://members.ozemail.com.au/~maaa2/pdf/news/nl1998_06.pdf) (requires Acrobat), a former Secretary of the organization says, refering to their American counterpart’s newlsetter:
> [@](#):
>
> The AMA President wrote in a recent issue of _Model Aviation_
> that there had been six fatal accidents in twenty years involving AMA members or clubs
> but only three involved model aircraft, all radio control, one at a model flying display.
> However, the largest property damage claim was the result of a free flight model starting
> a grass fire that burned a large area while the biggest personal injury claim involved a
> control line speed model.
He goes on to mention a fatality involving a control line model and two serious injuries, one from a C/L model and one from an R/C model.
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/4 "2003-09-19T01:46:13Z")
**Extraneous** , those things can move pretty damn fast with just a prop. I’m sure the one I have could take out a small child if they were hit at full speed.
There are also people flying scale model jets that are MUCH faster. I would hazard to guess one of these could kill an adult.
I’m sure it’s quite rare but the potential is definitely there.
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### Author:  [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/5 "2003-09-19T03:21:08Z")
No one was killed, but when I was first learning how to fly these things a guy was helping me tune the engine. He was kneeling in front of the plane holding it with his left hand, reaching around the prop with his right hand to adjust the fuel mixture screw, and then reaching for the RC control and revving the engine.
After doing this numerous times he, for some unknown reason, stuck his right hand directly into the arc of the rotating prop (15000 rpm with sharp edges). God it was horrible. Chunks of flesh and gobs of blood were flying everywhere, and his hand from what I could see was a mangled mess. I drove him to the hospital and although he didn’t lose any function, his hand ever after was not very pretty to look at.
I hate to think what would happen if one these things flew into someone’s face.
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### Author:  [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/6 "2003-09-19T04:01:27Z")
from **Ringo** ’s site:
> [@](#):
>
> During my time as Federal Secretary, I can recall only one fatality involving a model
> aircraft and that was a non-member flying a C/L model too close to power lines.
Connecting any conductor one is holding to power lines is generally ill-advised.
Would like to see the details on the r/c fatalities - I have seen models large enough to cause serious pain (my suggestion was to “put a saddle on it”), but to actually kill a human, I’d think that a freak hit by a prop on the neck, wrist, etc. would be required.
OK, maybe a direct hit on temple, solar plexus, base of skull - the other lethal spots on human (of which I’m aware, at least) also require directional force a model plane or chopper would have a real difficult time acheiving.
As already mentioned, a direct encounter with a prop was not enough to seriously mangle a hand (cosmetic injury which would be fatal only if the injured managed to bleed a really long time).
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/7 "2003-09-19T04:56:07Z")
Have you actually ever seen R/C aircraft in flight?
Some of them are BIG, in excess of 20 lbs.; and some move FAST, like over 100 MPH.
If you want to stand in front of one of those God help you.
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### Author:  [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/8 "2003-09-19T05:38:52Z")
Yes, I have seen r/c in flight, and started to build one (until I found out I’d have to drive 30-50 miles to fly it legally).
I have seen 4-engined scale WWII bombers - have not seen any jets.
While I am not willing to try to catch one of the things, the OP was specific as to fatalities - one could have one’s ribcage smashed up and still survive - it takes a bit to actually kill a human by blunt trama, so I’m guessing that the prop would be the most likely source of fatal injuries.
And I doubt that many people will be decapitated by runaway model choppers
p.s. - let’s leave old target drones out of this, as well as Predator-type vehicles, 'K? I’ll specify that anything weighing over 50 lbs travelling at 100 mph could easily kill, with or without armament.
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### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/9 "2003-09-19T06:24:13Z")
[Here’s a jet-powered R/C plane](http://www.jetmodelproducts.com/steve_lambert.htm) that I can imagine causing serious injuries or death, if used improperly…
It’s called a “Hustler” (no relation to the B-58). 81" wingspan; weight approx. 28 lbs.; engine thrust between 18-35 lbs (depending on engine used).
I couldn’t find any info on it’s top speed…but, in any case, I’d sure hate to have it hit me square in the chest.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/10 "2003-09-19T10:03:28Z")
The 1/4 and 1/3 scale models are big enough to cause Major Damage - I’ve seen (and held) radio control models wieghing 30+ lbs. Yes, with a direct hit to the head I could see one of those killing someone. Sever a critical blood vessel with a prop you could bleed to death. Also, if one of those augers in you could have some serious flying debris - last such wreck I helped clean up the metal engine parts were warped, bent, and broken and it buried the front of the plane 8 inches deep into the ground. So, yeah, there’s a lot of potential force there.
The gas powered ones have been known to catch fire occassionally - one could conceivably suffer fatal burns.
The fuel used in gas RC is highly toxic - confusing the fuel with your soda and taking a swig could prove very unpleasent, if not deadly. Given that some of it is brightly colored I could see a young child mistaking it for pop or juice with tragic results.
And those jets… one of the local RC jet guys likes to show his model off. You know, it is a real jet engine, that runs on real jet fuel.\* He uses traffic cones and caution tape to block off the exhaust zone when starting it. The exhuast comes out at a several thousand degrees, should you get too close you _will_ burst into flames, with potentially fatal results.
And the control line vs. power line situation has already been mentioned.
Given the opportunities for mayhem, what would be surprising is if there _wasn’t_ an occassional fatality.
- I always wondered how he filled that little gas can he had - go to an airport line guy and say “I’d like a half gallon of JetA to go, please”?
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### Author:  [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/11 "2003-09-19T10:41:54Z")
I know someone who witnessed a fatality…somewhere out in Arizona, IIRC, not too long ago. Someone lost orientation and hit himself in the chest. I’ve seen r/c helicopters, and they seem quite dangerous to me. (Like the real ones) 🙂
There are many ways that an r/c could kill not just one, but many people. For instance, slamming into the windshield of a car with a family inside. Even a 4 or 5 pound model could be deadly, at the speeds they fly. Most of the planes I fly are lightweight and soft, and I don’t fly gas-powered planes at all.
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/12 "2003-09-19T12:59:39Z")
The fatality rate is alot higher in Afghanistan and Iraq. Justa hunch.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/14 "2012-10-03T13:22:01Z")
Eh, they’re nothing compared to the danger posed by monks hurtling through midair. The danger of being impaled on a quill or tonsure-butted is very real.
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### Author:  [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/15 "2012-10-03T15:02:56Z")
[This happened at a pro-football game in 1979.](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/lawnmower.asp) Although the heading says ‘flying lawnmower’ it was just an r/c plane made to resemble a lawnmower. Two spectators were killed…
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### Author:  [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/16 "2012-10-03T15:12:31Z")
Just so this zombie isn’t raised without reason, in 1979 an RC plane (lawnmower, actually) [crashed at Shea Stadium](http://toolkit.bootsnall.com/transportation-travel-guide/air-travel-guide/ask-the-pilot-collection/bizarre-plane-crashes.html) in New York, killing two fans in the stands.
ETA: Beaten to the punch!
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### Author:  [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/17 "2012-10-03T15:54:49Z")
> [@postcards](#):
>
> Just so this zombie isn’t raised without reason, in 1979 an RC plane (lawnmower, actually) [crashed at Shea Stadium](http://toolkit.bootsnall.com/transportation-travel-guide/air-travel-guide/ask-the-pilot-collection/bizarre-plane-crashes.html) in New York, killing two fans in the stands.
>
> ETA: Beaten to the punch!
Damn! I hate it when I don’t recognize a zombie! Gonna get my brain eaten one of these days…
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-aircraft-fatalities/202500/18 "2012-10-03T16:02:48Z")
> [@postcards](#):
>
> Just so this zombie isn’t raised without reason, in 1979 an RC plane (lawnmower, actually) [crashed at Shea Stadium](http://toolkit.bootsnall.com/transportation-travel-guide/air-travel-guide/ask-the-pilot-collection/bizarre-plane-crashes.html) in New York, killing two fans in the stands.
>
> ETA: Beaten to the punch!
zombie or no
mowed down as it were.