Drone and Other Hobbyist Aircraft Injuries Seen in U.S. Emergency Departments, 2010–2017

Abstract

Recreational radio-controlled hobbyist aircraft-particularly "drones"-have become increasingly popular in the last decade. The purpose of this study is to describe injuries associated with hobbyist drones and compare them with injuries associated with other hobbyist aircraft. In this 2018 cross-sectional analysis of National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data for 2010-2017, case narrative fields were searched to identify emergency department visits related to hobbyist aircraft injuries. The incidence of hobbyist aircraft injuries was estimated, and summary statistics, chi-square tests, and t-tests were used to describe and compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of drone and other hobbyist aircraft-related cases. An estimated 12,842 hobbyist aircraft injuries presented to U.S. emergency departments during 2010-2017. An increased incidence attributable to drone-related injuries emerged in 2015. Overall, most injuries involved male patients aged 50 years on average. Propeller injuries were the leading mechanism. An estimated 270 patients required hospital admission. Patients injured by drones were younger (mean, 34 years vs 58 years; p<0.001) and more likely to be female than patients injured by hobbyist planes. Drone-related injuries were more likely than plane-related injuries to result from blunt trauma (e.g., being struck or falling during aircraft retrieval; 40.5% vs 7.9%, p<0.001). Helicopter-related injuries more closely resembled drone-related injuries than plane-related injuries. Hobbyist aircraft-related injuries are increasing, particularly drone-related injuries. Tailored injury prevention measures and product safety materials are needed to address all hobbyist aircraft-related injuries, with a particular focus on drone-related injury prevention measures.