In February 2018, Corey Hitchcock traveled to Puerto Rico to assist crews from Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power with restoration efforts following the island’s devastation from Hurricane Maria.
This time, Hitchcock and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) pilots from Alabama Power and Georgia Power did something different. Together, they used drones to pull 72,000 feet of rope for conductor wire, saving weeks of time and an estimated $5.3 million.
“Simply put, UAS got the lights on months faster,” Hitchcock said. “The traditional method for repairing downed wires was to shoot a pilot rope over a tower with a potato gun” …
Unmanned Aerial | April 10, 2019
