Or a Private Pilot can get an immediate F-16 escort on a TFR violation.īut if you are a Part 107 pilot or have a flying machine used in a way that requires a Part 107 rating, you can have 26 deviations/busts to generate a proposed $182,000 fine? Proposing is a word that offers a maybe we will, or maybe we won’t sanction this nitwit drone operator. We have always known the FAA is largely lethargic except, for example, suddenly swift if you have an altitude deviation/bust when in the clag. Proposing a $182,000 fine? Is our FAA now suffering schizophrenia among its many attributes? Cracking down on illegal drone operations is just the beginning, hopefully avoiding the anticipated full size aircraft or helicopter collision, Then drone operators will make national headlines in news media, bringing more attention to illegal activities. The number of aircraft incidents with drones is mounting and only a matter of time before a drone accidentally takes down a full size aircraft. Perhaps making examples of illegal drone activities with fines will spread throughout the drone operators community to dispel their acts of defiance. Greed in showing off and collecting money from videos of illegal flights dulls these operators into a false sense of impunity. Once warned by the FAA, future ignorance to abide by regulations all drone operators are alerted to can result in enforcement action such as this case. Unfortunately, drone fliers deliberately ignoring public information against flying out of sight and anywhere near airports seems to fall on deaf ears until the FAA calls, writes or send notice of the infraction(s). As egregious as this case is, I predict there will be others in the future. This article covers one of the more extreme cases where the pilot was violating regulations with impunity, after the FAA had already attempted to make their authority known through multiple compliance actions. A feat that even astounded these non-compliant operators when they all unanimously queried, “How did the FAA even get my name and cell number!?” One can only imagine that a warrant may have been utilized in obtaining the YouTube publishers true identity and cell phone number. It is remarkable, in my mind, that the FAA successfully tracked down these unlicensed operators. Therefore, that pilot must also posses a part 107 pilot certificate. The FAA is now saying that simply posting a video on YouTube, which in turn monetizes that video, makes that operator a “commercial” pilot. Nearly every channel I have viewed now has a post related to a call they received from the FAA. The plan still needs to go to the county council for approval and the council is likely to hold hearings on the plan once it’s submitted.All one needs to do is visit some of the prolific drone-related YouTube channels to know that the FAA is cracking down on regulatory non-compliance by drone operators. Tuesday’s meeting gets underway at 7 p.m. "Not to be over my backyard or something like that," one resident said. Officials say their $350,000 pilot program could start next year and fly 911 drones up to two miles from rooftop launch pads in Wheaton and Silver Spring.įOX 5 heard mixed opinions about police expanding their use of drones. Police currently use drones for incidents like fugitive searches, fires, traffic crashes and missing persons. We don’t have the time or the energy to be following people around so we want to focus on crime and safety," said Montgomery County police Capt. "There are privacy concerns there should be questions and we welcome those questions and we’ve thought about it a lot. Montgomery County police say they recognize that this could cause worry among residents but say the focus of the program is crime, not surveillance. I mean, where are we headed? Where are we headed with that?" one neighbor said. "I wouldn’t drone hovering around, nobody wants that. "There’s certainly legitimate use of police drones like if somebody’s lost in the woods or in an emergency but we do need to put some guardrails around it or we’re going to be having police drones flying everywhere all the time," said Jay Stanley with the ACLU.Īnd some Montgomery County residents agree.
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