---
title: "See a Guy Riding Huge Drone Wipe Out After Trying to Shoot a Hoop"
description: "As seen in two new videos, real-life Green Goblin and drone rider Hunter Kowald took a plunge while playing a round of flying drone basketball."
date: "2022-07-20"
modified: "2022-07-20"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/giant-drone-crash-shoot-hoop"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "basketball"
  - "drones"
  - "the digest"
---

# See a Guy Riding Huge Drone Wipe Out After Trying to Shoot a Hoop

![As seen in two new videos, real-life Green Goblin and drone rider Hunter Kowald took a plunge while playing a round of flying drone basketball.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/giant-drone-crash-shoot-hoop.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Hunter Kowald/Futurism\</em\>*

## Crash Course

You may have seen him surfing on top of a drone like the Green Goblin [through the streets of New York City](<https://futurism.com/interview-giant-drone-guy>).

Hunter Kowald, daredevil and mechanical engineering extraordinaire, has repeatedly made headlines with a creation he calls the SkySurfer.

But things don't always go according to plan. As seen in two new [videos](<https://www.instagram.com/hunterkowald/?hl=en>) shared by Kowald on his Instagram account, the inventor crashed his drone and sent splinters flying while trying to shoot some hoops from midair — a reminder that even though advanced transport can be a blast, it can also be dangerous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IZvqk8xXR4

## Bird Attack

The small basketball appears to bounce back and impact one of the drone's rotors, causing Kowald to plummet to the ground from roughly eight feet, landing on his behind as pieces of his device go skidding across the court. The video viral after being [shared on *WorldStarHipHop*](<https://worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video-c.php?v=wshhHp8zFZoUPxOABRT0>).

"Bird attack training?" Kowald wrote in the caption of his video. "We’re trending this morning for it. I crashed because I let my guard down, it was flying fine."

Things could've gone a lot worse. A second video, from a [different angle](<https://www.instagram.com/p/CgM0RJcFme0/?hl=en>), shows pieces of the drone dangerously flying through the air, narrowly missing a bystander.

"Crashed parts flying everywhere!" Kowald wrote in the caption. "It’ll drive full power into the ground to reduce impact."

"I tensed, flew upwards, shut off the board, then let it do its thing while falling," he added.

**More on Kowald:** *[We Talked to the Guy Who Flies Around on a Giant Drone That He Built Himself](<https://futurism.com/interview-giant-drone-guy>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)