Would someone please settle this..can a landowner shoot down our drones or not?

[gixxerbill]

Just had a big debate with my engineer that says he could shoot down my drone if I flew it over his house. I said really can you shoot down a helicopter flying over your house too? He didn't know how to answer that.

So then he brings up that he talked to a lawyer and they looked it up and said that people own the air space above their house(which I am not sure even that is true) but then I said even if that is true that doesn't give you the right to shoot down a drone flying over your property temporarily.

So can I have a definitive answer on this subject please?

 

[AyeYo]

According to the most recent court ruling, yes. According to the actual law of the land as will eventually be interpreted by a more competent judge, no.

People do not own the airspace over their property, but they can claim interference with the peaceful use of their property from objects flying overhead. Where this goes gray is that you'll never be able to sue Southwest Airlines for making noise over your house, but you'll probably get away with shooting down a drone. Why? Biased judges.

 

[Cyberpower678]

People own land, not airspace. Airspace is in the FAA's jurisdiction.

 

[captainserial]

Lots of jurisdictions have laws against firing guns into the air.

 

[Robbyg]

The laws are now very vague but using the old standard you can shoot down a drone that is flying 500ft or less over your property. The FAA has challenged that because a conflicting law says that the FAA has the right to govern all airspace from ground up. The FAA wants the legal limit to be changed but they have so far made no moves to do it.
So yes if someone shoots down a drone that is less than 500 ft over their property it is legal.

Rob

 

[captainserial]

Do you have a link that backs any of that up? I have never seen a law that saws that you may shoot a drone at any height, in any area.

My state has a law that saws you can't go lower than 250 feet over private property when you are flying as a hobbyist, but it definitely does not say anything about firearms.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

It is against federal law to harm any aircraft including unmanned. As to whether or not they will enforce that law in any given case is a guess at best.

Tell your friend that they certainly could, and ask him if he wants to be that guy?

 

[AyeYo]

So yes if someone shoots down a drone that is less than 500 ft over their property it is legal.

Rob

This is a myth. Everyone quotes this "500ft law", but no one can cite it.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

The laws are now very vague but using the old standard you can shoot down a drone that is flying 500ft or less over your property. The FAA has challenged that because a conflicting law says that the FAA has the right to govern all airspace from ground up. The FAA wants the legal limit to be changed but they have so far made no moves to do it.
So yes if someone shoots down a drone that is less than 500 ft over their property it is legal.

Rob

 

[theOz24]

I think the most important distinction here is "the expectation of privacy". Drones have potential of invading ones privacy, a airliner 40,000 ft above does not.


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

 

[integlikewhoa]

Lots of jurisdictions have laws against firing guns into the air.

Agreed.

Probley depends on where the OP lives more then anything else. In the country side of texas you can probley get away with alot. Were I live in the city, near Los Angeles you can't fire a gun in the city. Even if I built my own outdoor shooting range on my own property it would no way be legal to fire a weapon at anything let alone randomly into the air at flying objects where the bullet would land on one of many houses around.

I have also done alot of reading and altho people own land and not airspace I seem to have read (not saying its true) that FAA claims ownership of 400ft and up. So that leaves a Grey area from 0-400 feet. Since your flying below that per FAA rules I'm not sure there is a cut and dry answer.

 

[gixxerbill]

The laws are now very vague but using the old standard you can shoot down a drone that is flying 500ft or less over your property. The FAA has challenged that because a conflicting law says that the FAA has the right to govern all airspace from ground up. The FAA wants the legal limit to be changed but they have so far made no moves to do it.
So yes if someone shoots down a drone that is less than 500 ft over their property it is legal.

Rob

well since we can't fly above 400 ft that seems to be a big problem.

 

[DJ Kim]

It is against federal law to harm any aircraft including unmanned. As to whether or not they will enforce that law in any given case is a guess at best.

Tell your friend that they certainly could, and ask him if he wants to be that guy?

I concur Robert Mitchell. You can't shoot any aircraft in the air.
Privacy and/or trespassing matter is completely different issue and that doesn't justify violating aircraft shooting rule.

 

[AyeYo]

I think the most important distinction here is "the expectation of privacy". Drones have potential of invading ones privacy, a airliner 40,000 ft above does not.


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

The existing court cases that ruled in favor of property owners had to do with repeated annoyance of the property owner, not privacy concerns. This was all discussed in depth in the last thread about fly overs.

 

[Robbyg]

This is a myth. Everyone quotes this "500ft law", but no one can cite it.

Well read what a drone advocacy page has to say. I am looking up more but just came across this one first.


Where does private land end and public airspace begin?

 

[AyeYo]

Well read what a drone advocacy page has to say. I am looking up more but just came across this one first.


Where does private land end and public airspace begin?

But did you read the article?

The two men disagree how low Boggs flew his drone above Merideth’s home—Merideth estimates about 100 feet or less, while Boggs has data that places it above 200 feet. The drone’s exact altitude may not seem crucial, but it is unclear if landowners get to decide who can fly a drone over their property at 100 or even 300 feet, because no one has actually decided yet who owns this slice of airspace (whether you’re allowed to shoot down a drone hovering over your property is an even more complicated question).

That's actually false, because anyone that's done the reading knows that the FAA's jurisdiction starts 1 micron off the ground. Point being, there is no "500ft" law that is so often quoted in these discussions.

 

[DJ Kim]

this has nothing to do with "who owns the airspace" issue. that's not clearly defined. but that issue has nothing to do with shooting down an aircraft.
It's Federal crime to shoot down an aircraft, simply.

if your privacy is invaded, if you feel, you need to seek law enforcement for that matter.
for trespassing, it's the same thing.
even if these laws are violated, that doesn't clear you from breaking the law against shooting an aircraft down.

the action of discharging a firearm is completely another matter. depends on where you are, you may be allowed or not allowed to do so. that's completely different legal matter

 

[AyeYo]

this has nothing to do with "who owns the airspace" issue. that's not clearly defined. but that issue has nothing to do with shooting down an aircraft.
It's Federal crime to shoot down an aircraft, simply.

if your privacy is invaded, if you feel, you need to seek law enforcement for that matter.
for trespassing, it's the same thing.
even if these laws are violated, that doesn't clear you from breaking the law against shooting an aircraft down.

the action of discharging a firearm is completely another matter. depends on where you are, you may be allowed or not allowed to do so. that's completely different legal matter

This.

Which is why the recent court decision is laughable.

 

[theOz24]

The existing court cases that ruled in favor of property owners had to do with repeated annoyance of the property owner, not privacy concerns. This was all discussed in depth in the last thread about fly overs.

I haven't read all the court rulings but the most famous one that took place in Kentucky was about privacy. Meridith, the gun owner, was quoted as saying the drone was hovering while his daughter was sunbathing. He even said that if it was moving along, he would not have shot it.

A battlefield of drones and privacy in your backyard


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

 

[PropPilot]

Interesting that nobody has mentioned the inherent danger of firing a weapon into the air. Jimbobjo shoots at little Johnny's Mavvie flying over his house and the bullet lands some miles away and kills someone. THAT is the real problem with anyone 'fixin' to blow someone's drone out of the air.