Shocking moment test pilot was nearly killed by hoverbike’s spinning rotor blades when it crashed and flipped over during trial in Dubai
- An officer from United Arab Emirates law enforcement test drives the hoverbike
- After a mechanical fault he is thrown under the bike and hit with spinning blades
- Dubai police had been testing the bikes to use as first responder aircraft
This is the near-death moment a Dubai police officer fell backwards into the spinning blades of a hoverbike that he was testing to be used as a first responder aircraft.
Shocking footage shows the bumpy test ride ending with a life threatening crash landing as the officer from United Arab Emirates city’s law enforcement was tipped backwards into the propellers before rolling to safety.
Police had been test driving the Hoversurf Scorpion S3, painted in their white and green livery, as part of an initiative to use the hoverbikes for patrols and responding to emergencies across Dubai.
The video, first uploaded by the hoverbikes’ manufacturer, California-based Hoversurf, has since been taken down, with Dubai Police attempting to remove every trace of the video from the internet, reports The Drive.
In the footage the pilot of the Scorpion can be seen ascending without issue. It is when he reaches his maximum altitude of 98ft that the aircraft begins to buck as if the flight controller is unable to tell which way is horizontal.
On the descent, the hoverbike continues to tilt and buck forward and backward until the rear of the aircraft makes contact with the ground.
The 253lb quad-copter then flips over onto the pilot with blades still spinning, resulting in a near fatal crash.
Hoversurf, who gifted the first batch of Hoversurfs to Dubai police for them to test in 2017, said the crash was due to a mechanical failure.
Police had been test driving the Hoversurf Scorpion S3, painted in their white and green livery, as part of an initiative to use the hoverbikes for patrols over Dubai
On the decent the hoverbike continues to tilt and buck forward and backward with the pilot losing control
This could be due to the fact that Hoversurf had a safe operating altitude of up to 16ft, in the footage the police officer can be seen pushing the bike’s limits taking it to around 100ft before losing control.
Hoversurf first shared the video with the caption: ‘The barometer in Dubai refused and an accident occurred – a down from a height of 30 meters (98ft).
‘All safety systems worked well, and the pilot was not injured. Safety is our main concern. It is thanks to such incidents that our designs are becoming more safe.’
An ambulance can be seen attending to the police officer, who is thought to have escaped with only minor injuries.
The 253lb quad-copter flips over onto the pilot with blades still spinning, resulting in a near fatal crash
Hoversurf, who gifted the first batch of Hoversurfs to Dubai police for them to test in 2017, said the crash was due to a mechanical failure
An ambulance attended to the police officer, who is thought to have escaped with only minor injuries
Hoversurf state the top speed for the Hoversurf S3 2019 Hoverbike is 60mph with a flight time of just ten to 20 minutes (with a pilot) and up to 40 minutes when used as a drone. Each hoverbike currently costs $150,000.
Hoversurf chief operating officer Joseph Segura-Conn said the company have a deal with Dubai police who have exclusive rights to order as many units as they want.
He told CNN: ‘Currently we have two crews already training [to pilot the hoverbike] and we’re increasing the number. They’re going to let us know in the next month or two if they’d like any more … If they would like 30 or 40, we’ll make it happen for them.’
However the bikes are still available to buy in the U.S. where pilots do not need a license to fly them as the bikes meet Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.