• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechDrone

Here’s What Happens When a Drone Falls On Your Head

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 29, 2017, 1:00 PM ET
State Police Drone
An Illinois State Police drone, equiped with a camera, flies over 20th Street in Alton, Ill., Wednesday March 8, 2017, between Dunnegan Street and Alby Street recording the area where a week ago, a woman in a Pontiac Grand Prix apparently struck a pedestrian with her car on the same stretch of road. At that time the man was not breathing when firefighters found him but he was revived and flown to a St. Louis hospital where he is apparently still seeking treatment. The Alton Police Department traffic division ask for the assistance from the state police who have the resources to assist with the investigation, police said. (John Badman/The Telegraph via AP)John Badman—AP

You don’t need to know how gravity works to understand that being hit in the head by a falling drone will hurt.

But it turns out that drone crashes aren’t as dangerous to humans as being hit by in the head by steel shrapnel or a wood blocks. At least, that’s according to new research released on Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration along with a group of colleges including University of Alabama, University of Kansas, and Mississippi State University.

Under current FAA rules, businesses are forbidden from flying drones over people unless companies first get government approval. The FAA is currently considering letting companies fly drones above people, but it is evaluating the risks before deciding.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

One of the first tests by the FAA and its university research teams involved dropping a drone on the head of a crash test dummy. They found that a drone’s impact is “dramatically different” from other materials that weighed about the same.

Both steel debris and the wood block caused significantly more damage to the dummy than the drone, which absorb much of the impact because it’s made of more flexible materials.

Comparison between the impact from a drone, steel plate, and wood block. FAA
FAA

Additionally, the drone’s impact was reduced by drag, the air resistance that slowed its decent more than the steel and wood.

Still, the research indicates that it’s still unsafe to be hit by a drone.

For one, the propeller blades attached to quadcopter drones can slice skin, and the researchers said “blade guards are critical to safe flight over people.” Moreover, drone batteries, motors, and potential cargo could raise the risk of injury because such objects “are dense, and not likely to be made to come apart to dissipate impact energy,” the report said.

For more about technology and finance, watch:

The new research report is the first of several studies that the FAA plans to learn how to minimize the risk of injuries caused by falling drones. The FAA plans to conduct more research in June to verify the first report’s findings.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Lists Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Lists Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

sony
InnovationRobots
Meet ‘Ace,’ the paddle-wielding robot who just beat humans at ping pong in AI breakthrough
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressApril 22, 2026
8 hours ago
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just inked a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
AITech
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just inked a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezApril 22, 2026
9 hours ago
David’s Bridal exec has a warning for every CEO obsessed with AI’s return-on-investment
Retailinvestments
David’s Bridal exec has a warning for every CEO obsessed with AI’s return-on-investment
By Alex Vuocolo and Retail BrewApril 22, 2026
9 hours ago
frank
CommentaryVisa
Visa CMO: AI agents are your new customers — here’s how to sell to them
By Frank Cooper IIIApril 22, 2026
9 hours ago
President Donald Trump
AITariffs
The AI boom is single-handedly carrying the U.S. import market—and adding $200 billion to the trade deficit, Fed study finds
By Tristan BoveApril 22, 2026
11 hours ago
shlomit
Commentarycyber
The Mythos meeting focused on the wrong AI risk to banks. Here’s the one nobody is talking about
By Shlomit WagmanApril 22, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

The tables have turned: Florida and Texas are the biggest losers in the housing market as Ohio emerges a surprise winner
Real Estate
The tables have turned: Florida and Texas are the biggest losers in the housing market as Ohio emerges a surprise winner
By Sydney LakeApril 21, 2026
1 day ago
‘Something sinister’: What we know about the FBI probe into dead and missing scientists linked to space and military industries
Economy
‘Something sinister’: What we know about the FBI probe into dead and missing scientists linked to space and military industries
By Jim EdwardsApril 22, 2026
18 hours ago
'Something sinister could be happening': FBI looks into dead or missing nuclear and space defense scientists tied to NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX
Politics
'Something sinister could be happening': FBI looks into dead or missing nuclear and space defense scientists tied to NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX
By Catherina GioinoApril 21, 2026
1 day ago
John Ternus, the man stepping into Tim Cook and Steve Jobs' shoes, is a 25-year Apple veteran with zero LinkedIn posts
C-Suite
John Ternus, the man stepping into Tim Cook and Steve Jobs' shoes, is a 25-year Apple veteran with zero LinkedIn posts
By Kelvin Chan and The Associated PressApril 21, 2026
1 day ago
$166 billion in tariff refunds just became available, but small businesses may already be at a disadvantage
Law
$166 billion in tariff refunds just became available, but small businesses may already be at a disadvantage
By Sasha RogelbergApril 20, 2026
2 days ago
Palantir published a mini manifesto calling some cultures ‘harmful’ and ‘middling’ and said Silicon Valley has ‘a moral debt’ to the U.S.
AI
Palantir published a mini manifesto calling some cultures ‘harmful’ and ‘middling’ and said Silicon Valley has ‘a moral debt’ to the U.S.
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezApril 22, 2026
21 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.