Bald eagle attacks, destroys Michigan government DJI Phantom drone

The drone sent 27 warning notifications in 3.5 seconds, including one indicating its propeller had fallen off, before hitting the water and disappearing.

A bald eagle has taken down a government drone in the United States in what might have once been called a metaphor.

According to Michigan’s department of environment, great lakes and energy, the eagle collided with one of the DJI Phantom 4 Pro Advanced drones used by the department (with the acronym EGLE) on July 21.

Bald eagle’s are known to attack seagulls and other birds. Picture: iStock

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EGLE environmental quality analyst and drone pilot Hunter King was mapping shoreline erosion to help the agency document and help communities cope with high water levels.

After around seven minutes he saw the drone was losing satellite reception and called for it to return to him, which it began doing, speeding back to base at 35 km/h, before suddenly spiralling to the ground as Mr King watched on the remote’s video screen.

“It was like a really bad rollercoaster ride,” he said.

In the 3.5 seconds it took to hit the water, the drone sent 27 warning notifications, including one indicating that a propeller had fallen off.

When he returned his eye to the sky Mr King saw the eagle flying away, but no sign of the drone.

A nearby couple told him they saw the eagle hit something before it flew away, apparently uninjured.

Neither the couple nor Mr King were able to find the drone after searching the shoreline for a number of hours.

The drone is no longer in production but will be replaced by a similar model.

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Days later, EGLE unmanned aircraft systems co-ordinator Arthur Ostaszewski returned to the scene after telemetric data revealed where the drone had hit the water.

He paddled a kayak around 50 metres offshore, intending to swim around with snorkels, but after low visibility made that impossible he walked around in 1.2 metre deep water, searching the mucky floor of Lake Michigan with his toes.

He gave up after lightning began in the area and the drone remains lost.

That particular drone is no longer made but the department said it will buy a similarly capable one (which currently sells in Australia for $2399).

The precise motivations for the eagle’s alleged attack are unclear.

The department is considering using skins on the drone to make it look less like a seagull.

“The attack could have been a territorial squabble with the electronic foe, or just a hungry eagle. Or maybe it did not like its name being misspelled,” a statement from the EGLE department theorised.

EGLE asked Michigan’s department of natural resources to consider issuing a citation to the eagle but a department spokesman said the agency can’t issue corrective action notices to individual, non-human wildlife.

Even then, it might be subject to a legal challenge.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do,” the spokesman said. “Nature is a cruel and unforgiving mistress.”