The Internet loves a good drone video. Some of the most popular videos of the last year have shown us formerly impossible views of cities, landscapes, Burning Man … you name it. And drone disasters are just as popular as the triumphs. Here's a look at some of the most interesting only-from-a-drone shots captured by unmanned aerial vehicle videographers, and what they can teach us about shooting both safely and effectively from the air.

Captain Dave Anderson filmed and edited this clip featuring seagoing footage of dolphins and whales taken from DJI Phantom 2 quadcopters flying over the water surface while he piloted a small inflatable boat nearby. The footage is gorgeous, and Captain Dave seems to keep the drone far enough away from the action that he's not disturbing or threatening harm to any of the animals.

"Angry Ram" has generated almost 2.2 million YouTube views, but the video, while undoubtedly hilarious, is most valuable as a clear example of what not to do with a drone. Not only does it seem clear that the drone was being flown outside the owner's line of sight, and taunting animals with a noisy flying machine is poor form. As the UAVUS puts it on its code of conduct, "never operate a UAV to harass, herd or alter the normal behavior of wildlife."

Each borough of New York City gets its moment in the spotlight in this video that takes the DJI Phantom 2 off the beaten paths of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The video is gorgeous, but was it safe to shoot? The filmmaker said he tried to avoid populated areas, but some of the shots (mainly the ones nearest to busy roads, bridges, and amusement park rides) make it look like a flyaway drone could have been a real hazard.

An enduring viral smash with over 11 million views, this clip is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the imagery is unique and impressive. On the other, flying a drone through a fireworks display seems to present some potential safety issues. What if a firework strikes the drone and sends either it or the drone careening off in an unpredictable direction? A writer for National Journal concluded that the flight likely broke "several" regulations.

You've probably seen references to "face-melting" action before. Well, in this case it's for real—the Phantom 2 quadcopter flew close enough to the lava that it literally melted the face of its GoPro camera payload. (Watch the behind-the-scenes video to see more.) Well, it's better than risking a person's life trying to get similar photos from a low-flying helicopter. The folks at DJI haven't yet delivered any more installments in the promised "DJI Feats" video series, but that's OK. This one is a hard act to follow.

This clip, titled "Drone Quadcopter Hits Groom in the Head // Epic Fail," is self-explanatory. As YouTube user WeddingMan123 describes it, "I had done one successful fly-by and I brought it around for another pass to make sure it was smooth. I underestimated the lift time and it hit the groom on the side of the face…. I felt horrible." The lesson? Don't be like WeddingMan123. Remember that practice makes perfect, and put in the time to get your skills down before you take your amazing flying machine on paying gigs.

Yep, that's a long way down. We're not sure what went wrong in this clip, but YouTube user Humboldt710 offered this advice: "Make sure to set your RTH [return-to-home] height higher than the highest obstacle you are flying around." Anything that keeps you from flying into a towering rock formation would be a big improvement. Again, it pays to know your gear.

OK, nobody really expects a hawk attack, so this particular tete a tete might have been difficult to avoid. Still, it underscores the importance of keeping eyes on your drone, and being aware of the environment around you, including any territorial wildlife that might decide it's time to knock your new toy out of the sky.

Sometimes the act of flying a drone itself is the best story. Here's a narrative with the suspense built in to the test flight. You can see the pilot (he's near the center of the picture, in a turquoise coat) realize his Phantom 2 is in trouble at about the :40 second mark, when he starts racing to save the drone from a watery grave. The lesson? Keep a close eye on your battery levels, and be wary of possible battery failures that can cause emergency landings. 

Filmmaker Danny Cooke visited Chernobyl and nearby Pripyat with CBS News for a 60 Minutes segment aired last month. He gathered images from the empty cities, evacuated after a 1986 nuclear disaster, with a Canon 7D and a GoPro Hero3+ mounted on a DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter. A long abandoned cityscape with a compelling story is pretty much the definition of a drone-friendly subject, and Cooke has turned his aerial images into one of the most haunting of all drone videos.