What kept the NYPD from flying security drones on New Year’s Eve?

The New York Police Department (NYPD) had been planning on using camera-equipped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for security purposes in Times Square, the first time it had done so for a large-scale event. Mother Nature, however, had other plans.

Heavy wind and rain descended on New York City before the turn of the new year, and the NYPD decided that the risk of damage to the UAVs was too high. This was not only because it didn’t want to damage its drones, but also because a malfunctioning drone would have fallen onto all the people below. Ouch!

The NYPD fleet consists of 11 DJI Mavic Pro quadcopters, two DJI Matrice 210 RTK quadcopters, and one DJI Inspire 1 quadcopter.