It's estimated that there could be from 10-30,000 drones in the skies by 2020. Right now, they are loosely regulated and as INSIDE EDITION reports, things can sometimes go horribly wrong if they are not used properly.
They’re the newest must-have gadgets! Small, remote-controlled drones are seemingly everywhere.
Some cost just a few hundred dollars but professional models can run into the thousands. And you don’t have to be a pilot to fly one.
They're also equipped with high-definition video cameras and can capture spectacular images.
They can even document major new events, like the Costa Concordia cruise liner, whose wreckage was exhumed from the sea, a year after its tragic accident off the coast of Italy.
Videos shot from drones can be seen all over the internet.
One man used a drone for a very special marriage proposal. He attached an engagement ring box to the top of a drone and flew it to a park, where his soon-to-be fiancé was waiting.
Even big corporations are getting in on the drone craze. Dominos pizza is testing out a delivery system using drones to deliver pizza from the air.
But, with the popularity of drones rising, some serious concerns are being raised about their safety. Anyone can fly these devices. Often it’s as easy as downloading an app and using your phone to control the drone. But, if you don’t know how to handle them, they can get out of control very quickly.
Video on the internet shows what can happen. One drone can be seen losing control and falling out of the sky like a brick! Another person lost control of his drone and crashed it into a building!
But things can turn really dangerous when a drone gets out of control with a crowd watching from below.
During a recent running of the bulls event outside Richmond, Virginia, a drone videotaping the event suddenly plummeted into the stands, smashing right into some spectators!
“Oh! It just hit a dude in the face!” said an announcer covering the event.
Five people were injured in the accident.
“I had been hit pretty significantly in the chest and was thrown off the bleachers,” said Brad Fillius, one of the spectators.
The drone that crashed into the grandstands in Virginia is called an octo-copter, because it has eight rotors. Scott Hansen, the owner of the drone, told INSIDE EDITION the mishap occurred when the drone's battery ran out, causing it to literally drop out of the sky.
“I don't like any of them to be flown over groups of people just because you don't know what's going to happen," Hansen said.
Even wedding photographers are using drones to capture beautiful, one-of-a-kind shots of the bride and groom.
“It lets you get shots you wouldn't normally be able to get otherwise,” said Davey Orgill, a Utah wedding videographer.
Orgill thought he had mastered the controls of his drone, until he accidentally hit a groom in the face with his drone!
“I was flying it fast to get the smoothest shot, and hit him in the head. And, I kind of went into shock,” said Orgill. “The bride just looked at me like, what did you just do to my groom?”
Orgill said although the groom in the video sustained a cut to his cheek and head, he had enough time to recover before the wedding. “They were super cool about the whole thing,” he said.
Orgill posted the video online in hopes that others can learn a lesson from his mistake.
While drones can provide one-of-a-kind extraordinary images, be warned. If you hear something buzzing overhead, you might want to duck!
Right now only eight states regulate the operation of drones, 35 states are considering new rules.
