The Drone on the Cliff

Hilde had spent the whole afternoon filming the coastline. She wanted a short video of the white cliffs at sunset. Her small gray drone had been flying beautifully for an hour. The light was golden, and the sea was calm. She was watching the screen so closely that she forgot to check anything else.

At twenty to seven, a warning flashed: "Low battery. Land now." It was far too late. The wind had pushed the drone out over the water, and the battery was already almost empty. Hilde tried to bring it back, but it dropped like a stone. On the screen, she saw rock and grass, and then the picture went black.

She walked to the edge of the cliff and lay down on her stomach to look over. Twelve meters below, on a narrow ledge, the drone sat between two stones. Its red light was still blinking. It was not damaged, as far as she could tell. It was just completely out of reach.

Hilde sat back on the grass and thought about her options. She could try to climb down. A steep path of loose stones led toward the ledge, and she had climbed worse paths before. But she was alone, it was getting dark, and the sea was a long way below. Or she could leave the drone where it was and forget about it. That meant losing three hours of footage and an expensive machine.

She looked at the path again. Her mind kept saying, "Just ten minutes." Then she remembered a sign at the car park, with a phone number and the words "Cliff problems? Call the rangers." A drone could be replaced. Her own ankle could not.

The decision was easier than she expected. She stood up, stepped well away from the edge, and called the number. A ranger answered after three rings. She described the ledge, the wind and the time. "Please don't climb," he said at once. "We have ropes for this. The light is bad tonight, so we will come first thing in the morning."

At eight the next day, two rangers in orange jackets arrived with ropes and helmets. One of them walked backward over the edge, calm and slow. Ten minutes later, he was back on top with the drone in a bag.

"Good as new," he said, handing it to her.

"Thank you," Hilde said. "Next time, I will check the battery first."

"And next time," the ranger said with a smile, "you can put our number in your phone."