Drone Almost Swallowed Up By Lake Berryessa Glory Hole

Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains is formed by the Monticello Dam, which provides water and hydroelectricity to the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.

When one Californian man flew his camera drone over the lake, his was blown away by what he saw. The water was rushing down the vortex, making it looks like it was a black hole on the face of the planet. Curiosity kicking in, David Burgman lowered his drone to get a closer look, when the unthinkable happened. The vortex created by the water swirling down into the dam created suction that almost swallowed the gadget!

Check out how this drone, first hovering at approximately 1,000 feet above Lake Berryessa, descends into the famous glory hole and almost gets lost forever. David says: “When I lowered the drone into the ‘Glory Hole,’ it became unstable and almost crashed into the side,” he explained. As the drone approached the hole, David began to struggle with the controls. You can see the drone swaying left and right and getting sucked deeper into the spillway. For a minute there it looks like all is lost, but one jolt of energy and David managed to pull out the drone without damages.

What a close call! It takes some real skill to be able to get a drone that close to the glory hole without falling in. What a spectacular sight though, isn't it?

Check out how close a call it was.