Another drone shooting. This is not going to go away.

Some FAA information about operating commercial drones

I had not intended to extend this, at some times very silly, thread.
However I came across an article that is interesting, fairly official, legal information regarding (the commercial use of) drones or "unmanned aircraft systems".

I am a retired broadcast engineer and get several radio and TV engineering rags online.
One of them posted a link to this article intended for news gathering organizations.

The legal picture for hobby use I liken to a light fog bank: not clear at all if it's even there.
For commercial use it's more like a quagmire or pig sty.
The potential connection is that some folks would like to make the hobby users go thru much of the official riga-marole that the business people now have to.
These rules, like many things the feds do, seems to change about as often as NASCAR rules.

One thing to notice in these rules and procedures is limitation to NOT fly over the public without permission.
" no drone-flying over (or within 500 feet of) “nonparticipating” persons unless those persons (a) are protected by adequate barriers or structures or (b) have given their consent and the operation doesn’t constitute an undue hazard to them."

This kind of language would put the kibosh on most of the drone activity discussed previously.

Anyways here is the link:

The FAA's Drone Drill: An Introduction
 
Recreational drone operator arrested

New York City teacher arrested hours after drone crash at US Open

“reckless endangerment, reckless operation of a drone and operating a drone outside the prescribed area.”

The one they will get him on is operating too close to the airport, maybe reckless endangerment.
Not sure there is a statute for reckless operation of a drone.
Then again in NYC if it not mandatory, it's banned.
 
^ He is a first rate idiot, and people like him are why so many of us dislike drones, and why drone operators who are not idiots will have stringent restrictions. It is to be hoped, but I am sure it won't happen, that he spends at least a few days on Rikers.
 
A completely different take on drone shooting (sheriff says it's legal)

Drone shot down at Oklahoma Senator's fundraiser

Despite the breathless pro-PETA tone of the article the last sentence is important:

"A spokesperson for S.H.A.R.K. also said the sheriff refused to investigate the fall of the drone, insisting that shooting a drone is not illegal."

I suspect this will not be the last drone lost while harassing hunters.
 
Update:
Judge rules in favor of “Drone Slayer,” dismisses lawsuit filed by pilot | Ars Technica
This is STILL in the courts.
Drone owner filed in federal court and basically they (the court) said no this belongs back in local jurisdiction.
The FAA was not involved in this particular suit.

"As the consumer drone age has taken flight, legal scholars have wondered about this exact situation. If a drone flies over private property, is it trespassing? The short answer is that American courts have not addressed the question adequately. The best caselaw on the issue dates back to 1946, long before inexpensive consumer drones were technically feasible. That year, the Supreme Court ruled in a case known as United States v. Causby that a farmer in North Carolina could assert property rights up to 83 feet in the air."
 
Fastbolt said:
I thought I read where LAPD might've lost this one? Dunno, as I don't own a drone and don't keep up on this new area of the law.
LAPD Seeks to Ban Drones Over Police Stations | Officer.com

As far as the gentleman in KY ...

He mentioned "To me, it was the same as trespassing.". Okay, let's ask a couple simple questions. Does KY allow someone to shoot trespassers who aren't offering the threat of imminent serious bodily injury or death? Would he have been charged with the "first degree wanton endangerment" section reported if he'd discharged his shotgun into the air (in that area with neighbors very close) for a trespasser?

The damage to the personal property of the owner(s) is another matter, perhaps, and one which I known nothing about regarding KY's law. However, say the drone - or someone else's remotely controlled model airplane - were to have made a landing in the gentleman's backyard. Would he have felt entitled to have intentionally damaged it because it was on his property?

I won't presume to speculate about this incident, other than to offer that over the course of my career in LE, I've seen no particular shortage of otherwise normal folks sometimes make some rash decisions, or think they had the "right" to do something, and that thinking got them into trouble that could've easily been avoided.
Click to expand...
Just wondering. These are remote control aircraft, some of which are large enough that their mass and spinning propellors pose a hazard to those on the ground if struck.
My BIL is a big radio control model airplane fan, and he and his colleagues cannot legally operate them outside the boundaries of their flying field. I would think the same restrictions should apply to amateur drone operators. A drone is just another RC aircraft.
OTOH, I doubt one has a right to discharge a firearm or destroy the RC plane, especially in an urban or suburban area, but the victim could for sure complain to the local police for trespassing, or violating whatever the operating restrictions are for the craft, as well as file a civil suit for damages if there were any.

Somewhere in between shooting the drone down and doing nothing about your property and privacy being invaded is the boundary that defines where "the quiet enjoyment of my property" lies and the remedies for stopping or punishing a violation of that. The little I've read has suggested the drone boom has outpaced the law on this.
 
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If they are close enough I would think a good fisherman could bag a drone with just about any kind of bait and a decent casting rig.
Civilian drones are not very sturdy or large.

Then there is this:
Drone Buster
A whole anti-drone security and jamming system for your home.
They aren't too specific about how it all works but you CAN pre-order!!
Capitalism at it's finest. They heard you say "market" and there they are.

Or you can avoid the FAA, BATF, and your local LEO and instead take on the FCC with one of these:
Drone Jammers
 
When I get my own house, it will not be in a town or city. It will be in the country and I will shoot a drone. It would be no different than shooting on my range.

Second flying a drone over someone's property without the owners permission should be criminal trespass IMO. You're not shooting the trespasser, you're shooting a hunk of plastic.

Is shooting a peeping tom okay? No. But, you're not shooting him you're shooting at a hunk of plastic.

I believe drones can cause more harm than good and people will always use them irresponsibly. I have no problem with homeowners using them for target practice.

Better yet, shoot them with less lethal (rubber) buckshot. It will disable the drone, but not "endanger" anyone :)
 
Drones

Alls you guys can argue about them things alls ya want. Alls I kin say is keep them things off my property ;):p

 
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A federal court has struck down the FAA's drone registration requirement

Well the FAA's drone regs just got upended.
Specifically the drone registration requirements got thrown out entirely as I read it.
Court Strikes Down Drone Registration Rule | TvTechnology
"A federal court has struck down the Federal Aviation Administration’s drone registration rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today ruled in favor of John Taylor, a Washington, D.C. model aircraft enthusiast who challenged the FAA’s registration requirement in court.

“The 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act provides that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft,’ yet the FAA’s 2015 Registration Rule is a ‘rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’ Statutory interpretation does not get much simpler. The registration rule is unlawful as applied to model aircraft,” the ruling stated."
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/FA6F27FFAA83E20585258125004FBC13/$file/15-1495-1675918.pdf

This is certainly not going to slow down the unwanted appearance of drones in your backyard.
 
Engine49guy said:
I have a neighborhood creep that flies one around looking in peoples back yards, I have seen it twice and its annoying at best.
Click to expand...

You know, every drone that flies over back yards isn't "peeping", and every drone isn't even camera-equipped. Just because someone flies a drone over his own neighborhood doesn't make him a creep or a peeping pervert.
 
Watchdog said:
You know, every drone that flies over back yards isn't "peeping", and every drone isn't even camera-equipped. Just because someone flies a drone over his own neighborhood doesn't make him a creep or a peeping pervert.
Click to expand...

Yes it does.
 
Don't say that...

scooter123 said:
A lot of communities have laws against the discharge of firearms within city limits. However, is a Paintball gun a Firearm and would one have enough power to bring down a low flying drone? Fact is these things are becoming a serious problem in regards to violating Flight Paths and I would consider them a potentially serious invasion of my privacy if one were hovering overhead.
Click to expand...

Don't say that, they'll just outlaw anything that shoots.
 
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