Drone saves homeowner from recent Kilauea lava flows

[GLEvideo]

Tonight I just watched a documentary on PBS about the recent lava flows on Kilauea in Hawaii. A segment in this program showed some of the researchers using a small drone to fly out to a specific waypoint once or twice every day to photograph the lava. This collection of photos from the same exact position would create a photographic record of the spread and flow of the lava. On one particular evening there was a lava pond which broke free sending a fast moving flow down the hill, wiping out the roads and endangering homes. One resident was trying to find a way out and called for help from their cell phone. Authorities got in touch with the researchers who were using the drone and the pilot, watching the FPV screen, was able to find the panicked resident. Messages were relayed between the resident and the drone pilot for the resident to follow the lights of the drone and they would lead him safely to where the rescue crew was trying to find their way in. The drone managed to get the resident connected to the rescuers location and they all lived happily ever after. I've also found several references to this on the web.

Here is one of them.
Researchers Use Drone to Save Man's Life from Hawaii's Lava Flow