Drone Spraying Pesticides Causes Pedestrian Death, Operator Sentenced and Ordered to Pay Compensation of 630,000 Yuan
Agricultural drones are widely used in agricultural production for spraying pesticides, sowing, and fertilizing. However, the operation of new technologies must strictly adhere to safety regulations. Recently, the China Judgments Online website published a case of a death caused by agricultural drone operations, in which Liu Peng, the drone operator, was sentenced to prison by the Qiyang People's Court of Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, for the crime of negligent death.
Liu Peng held a qualified certificate for agricultural drone system operators. On June 26, 2025, he was invited by large-scale farmer Chen Hui to spray pesticides for rice in Babao Town, Qiyang City.
Before the operation, Liu Peng did not set up a safety cordon, nor did he arrange for a professional safety officer to evacuate personnel in the surrounding area. He only entrusted Chen Hui to act as a temporary safety officer, helping to observe whether anyone was passing on the road.
An hour later, the spraying operation was completed. Liu Peng did not ask if anyone was on the road, nor did he carefully observe whether the landing surface was safe, before controlling the drone to land on the road next to the field.
During the landing process, the system prompted him to confirm the surrounding safety, but Liu Peng, being overconfident, clicked to confirm the landing without confirming. At this time, a motorcycle happened to pass by, and the drone propeller hit the head of Huang, a passenger on the motorcycle. Huang was not wearing a safety helmet and bled profusely on the spot.
Liu Peng immediately went forward to check, cooperated with others to bandage the wound, and called 120. A few days later, Huang died after rescue efforts failed. Forensic examination showed that the cause of death was severe craniocerebral injury and massive hemorrhage.
On the day after the incident, Liu Peng voluntarily surrendered and confessed truthfully. Afterwards, he compensated Huang’s family for a total of 630,000 yuan in various losses and obtained their forgiveness.
The court held that Liu Peng caused the death of one person due to negligence, constituting the crime of negligent death. Considering the circumstances of his voluntary surrender, guilty plea, active compensation and obtaining forgiveness, as well as the community correction assessment opinion, the court sentenced Liu Peng to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and six months with a two-year suspended sentence for the crime of negligent death in the first instance.