Flying mistletoe and distracted drone driver cause work-related accident

We just gave you the HR slant on the beloved reindeer Rudolph. Flying reindeer are a holiday tradition. But when a chain restaurant in Brooklyn decided to experiment with “mobile mistletoe,” a workplace accident occurred—to an employee of another company!

The idea was innovative marketing—getting a drone, attaching mistletoe to it with fishing line, flying it inside the eatery, and giving restaurant gift cards to kissing couples.

The holiday promotion was so unusual that the local paper, Courier Life’s Brooklyn Daily, sent a reporter and photographer to the restaurant to cover the story. But there was probably no thought that one of its employees would be injured as a result.

According to ABCNews, the reporter was interviewing the drone operator, who suggested she put out her hand and let the drone land on it. When it did land, the reporter flinched, sending the drone into the photographer’s face, causing some facial cuts and getting mistletoe and fishing line tangled into her hair. However, the photographer contends it was the operator’s fault, not hers.

While the incident did not involve any of the restaurant’s employees, it still caused a work-related accident for the photographer. The restaurant chain, TGI Fridays, told ABCNews it was an “isolated event during a demonstration for the reporter and photographer only, given by the licensed operator of the drone during the last day of this particular promotion. Of course, safety is our first priority, and we are sorry that this isolated incident occurred.”

But for the Brooklyn Daily, it was an injury to an employee caused in the course of employment, so there will be some issues to deal with. The photographer is taking the high road, saying she was “letting it stand as an incident.” but says it serves as a reminder that “a drone is a drone,” and it can be dangerous—and may be better flown outside.