A competitor in Australia’s Endure Batavia Triathlon became an early casualty in the war between man and machine Sunday when an unmanned aerial vehicle fell from sky and clocked her right in the noggin. Raija Ogden, wife of defending champion Courtney Ogden, was reportedly entering the second lap of her run leg when the remote-controlled helicopter struck her down.
The drone belonged to local enterprise New Era Photography and Film, which was shooting live footage of the event. Ogden sustained minor head injuries. She was treated on site by paramedics and was in stable condition following the race. The Geraldton Triathlon club has released a statement apologizing to Ogden and vowing to find out what exactly went wrong with the drone.
New Era owner Warren Abrams believes the drone might have been hacked by an outside party and deliberately flown into human traffic. “We will be conducting a full investigation of what happened,” he told reporters. “But it looks as though someone has hacked into our system.”