HI All.
That video is on my YT channel. But it was originally shot by a Detroit resident named Giovanni Lucia. The reason it's on my channel (unlisted) is because I had downloaded it for safe keeping. I assumed he would take it down once the poop hit the fan. And he did. Actually, his entire Facebook page (where he originally posted it) is down.
He and I also had a FB conversation about this before his FB page was taken down. According to the lead investigator on the case I was the only one he talked to about it. But I still have the conversation. And it was not my finest hour as a representative of the UAS community. And now it's likely to become part of the investigation. Not a conversation I'm proud of.
I work with the FAA on social media and the FAASTeam. As such, once this blew up, one of my FAA contacts reached out and ask if I knew anything about it. I sent her the link.
As far as trouble, yes, he is in a pile of it. I know for a fact he is under investigation by the FAA & NCIS. And the NCIS also brought in the FBI (possibly for civilian prosecution?). It has also been sent to LEAP, which is the FAA's Law Enforcement Assistance Program. There is also at least one other agency investigating. NCIS is going to be his biggest issue. The Blue Angels have cookies of the video, and as one pilot put it "definitely wasn't too happy" when they first saw it. A friend of mine talked with one of the Blue Angel pilots he knows and passed that along to me.
This has also caused no shortage of hassle for myself. I did not expect the video to get any views (remember, I didn't list it on my page), but I made the mistake of sharing it in a small private FB group. It got shared from there (I should have known better, lesson learned!) so I didn't bother saying anything about it not being my video in the title.
So lots of people didn't read the description and assumed I was the pilot. I have received nasty, vitriolic emails, and had to turn off comments on the video. At one point there were over 50 profanity laced comments waiting for my approval. I also now have to monitor my entire YT page because people are now leaving those comments on my other videos since they can't leave it on that video. I also changed the title of the video for claicifation, so I may turn the comments back on. But I'm a bit hesitant, even with the new title.
While it is certainly aggravating to deal with people too lazy to read the description, I will take something positive away from all of the nastiness directed my way. And that's passion.
This proves people are passionate about this industry, and passionate about safety in this industry. I'll actual be writing an article for our Drone U blog about this episode with my take on the situation.
But Mr. Lucia's life is about to become extremely complicated.
This is by far the most dangerous, disgusting video I've even seen taken by a drone. And I hope Mr. Lucia has the book thrown at him.