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Teen Helicopter Enthusiast Slices Own Head With Toy Chopper, Dies


NBC 4 New York/Facebook

The 19-year-old was operating the model helicopter in a Brooklyn park

By Shimon Prokupecz | Thursday, Sep 5, 2013 | Updated 8:21 PM EDT

A 19-year-old man playing with a remote control helicopter in Brooklyn lost control of it, sliced off the top of his own head and died Thursday afternoon, law enforcement officials said.

The helicopter enthusiast, identified by officials as Roman Pirozek Jr., and his father were in Calvert Vaux Park at Shore Parkway and Bay 44th Street in Gravesend.

Pirozek also sheared off part of his shoulder, officials said.

Witnesses told detectives Pirozek was performing a trick with the model helicopter when something went wrong, according to law enforcement officials.

The model helicopter was worth about $2,000.

Sources said friends of the victim told investigators he often performed risky tricks with model helicopters.

Pirozek's neighbors in Woodhaven, Queens said he worked at Kennedy Airport and was a quiet but "really good kid." They said he and his father flew model helicopters almost every weekend.

Pirozek's social media accounts were filled with references to his hobby of flying remote control helicopters. On Aug. 25, he wrote on his Facebook page, "Great day for flying, the new frame brace is working great, breaking in some new packs I just got, they are the best that I have flown so far and loving them."

Pirozek graduated in 2012 from the High School for Construction, Engineering and Architecture in Queens, according to his Facebook page.

Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.

© 2013 NBCUniversal Media, LLC

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Toy-Helicopter-Head-Teen-Brooklyn-Gravesend-222576101.html [with comments]


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Teenager hit by his remote control helicopter in NYC park, dies from severe head injury

Updated: Thursday, September 5, 2013 8:33 PM

NEW YORK — A teenage remote control helicopter enthusiast flying one in a park on Thursday was struck in the head by it and killed.

Roman Pirozek Jr., 19, was pronounced dead at a Brooklyn park near a busy parkway, and initial reports suggested he was killed by the helicopter’s blade, police said.

The accident occurred in Calvert Vaux Park, where operating remote control helicopters is allowed in designated areas. A club for hobbyists, the Seaview Rotary Wings Helicopter Club, flies its aircraft from a field there.

Pirozek’s father, Roman Pirozek, is a vice president of the club. He and other club members didn’t return messages seeking comment Thursday.

Police said they didn’t suspect any criminal act was involved in the teenager’s death. They didn’t immediately release the model and make of the helicopter he was flying.

In a YouTube video posted in July by someone named Roman Pirozek Jr., a T-Rex 700N DFC is shown flying around at high speeds in lateral and vertical jolts.

That particular make is on the larger side of remote control helicopters, said Rich Hanson, spokesman for the Muncie, Ind.-based Academy of Model Aeronautics, a membership group of hobbyists.

Hanson said the helicopter has an almost 4 1/2-foot wingspan and can reach speeds of up to 60 mph but is used primarily for tricky, acrobatic maneuvers.

“Flying a RC helicopter is one of the more difficult aircraft to operate,” he said. “There are really two common reasons one might go out: pilot error or equipment failure.”

Pirozek’s death, Hanson said, likely is only the second ever caused by a remote control helicopter in the United States. He said some years ago an instructor in Texas was killed by a remote control helicopter after the student he was teaching lost control of it.

© 2013 Associated Press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/teenager-hit-by-his-remote-control-helicopter-in-nyc-park-dies-from-severe-head-injury/2013/09/05/4cabf3d4-1694-11e3-961c-f22d3aaf19ab_story.html [no comments yet]