close call

Ryan Chatfield was out playing with his drone on Floreat Beach in Australia this week, when its batteries died.

The videographer then sprinted after the expensive toy (he said it cost him over $2000) and managed to catch it before it took a dive in the ocean.

“I thought, ‘That’s it, it’s gone’ but I knew I just had to have a crack at it,” he told The West Australian.

And fortunately he was successful in his rescue attempt and just got a little wet in the process. He also chose the perfect song to edit into the clip using Enya’s “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away).”

We’ve seen lots of consumer drone fails over the past few years, including a guy who saved his DJI Phantom 2 from crashing into a pond at the last second.

From the Youtube description:

RNLI lifeguards rescued a boy who had been dragged away from Crooklets Beach in Bude, Cornwall, in a very strong rip current while bodyboarding. He was heard screaming for help so lifeguard Joby Wolfenden-Brown paddled out on a rescue board and grabbed the boy, who was exhausted and clearly in a lot of distress. He was brought back to shore safely and reunited with his family.

Quick, somebody help me make the Boat in the Furious series we've always deserved!

This took place at the Largada Fiesta del Surubi, a fishing tournament that takes place every year in Goya, Argentina. Gotta love the way those terror screams turn into nervous laughter at the end.

That sound of relief at the end was all of us watching this.

So, does everybody have dashboard cameras these days?