Myth. In the US this wouldn't happen. Don't know about other countries. I talked to an electrician who has worked on HV lines, and says that that this is not how it works.
It is safe to fly near them.
Sorry but your friend is not correct.
you can fly close , and that is no problem. However, in the case of the OP , who thought that he had hit the lines, an invisible magnetic field affects the electronics of the drones.
The fact that the drone fell a few seconds later indicated that interference had been experienced
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What are some of the Risks associated with using drones for power-line inspections?
When you fly your drone near high KV power-lines, an invisible interference is exerted on your drone. This makes flying extremely difficult. A layman can compare this interference to a Wi-Fi network. Greater the distance between your drone and the power-lines, lesser the interference.
Remember that you cannot use a consumer drone without ferro-magnetic protection for power-line inspections. Flying your drone near a high voltage power-line will simply fry up your flight controller!
Ferro magnetic resistance measures how much resistance a drone is capable of handling. The Phantom 4 Pro, for instance is known to have greater ferro-magnetic resistance than an Inspire 1 and Inspire 2.
You are likely to face less interference and problems if you are flying above or beside the power-lines. However, if you are flying in-between power-lines, flight interference will see a huge spike. It is advisable to maintain a distance of 100 feet from a power-line at all times.”
Drones have the potential to revolutionize the way we inspect our powerlines and transmission towers. According to Navigant Research, using a drone can slash costs from $5,000 to $200 for a single transmission tower inspection. And we get far more accurate data too.
www.thedroneu.com
moral of the story, avoid flying really close to power lines.
