2 Men Face Prison After Drones Fly In Super Bowl Airspace

[anotherlab]

While you can make an argument that a 30 mi radius TFR could be overly restrictive, those two pilots knew it was in place and decided to fly anyways. The FAA made it crystal clear what the potential penalties would be for violating the TFR.

Pilots and drone operators who enter the TFRs without permission could face civil penalties that exceed $30,000 and potential criminal prosecution for flying drones in the TFR.

What is the reasoning for a 30-mile radius? I'm legitimately curious about that. At the outer edge of the TFR, you would be hard-pressed to find a drone that could make that distance and it wouldn't be a consumer drone.

 

[Tiger64]

I am not from the US but my reading about this over last few days offer two reasons.
1 seems to be to give the authorities time to intercept threats before they get to stadium. ( not sure how you would do that).
The second appears that there are large gatherings in the area around the stadium that could be targeted.

And i guess there is always " because they can"

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

While you can make an argument that a 30 mi radius TFR could be overly restrictive, those two pilots knew it was in place and decided to fly anyways. The FAA made it crystal clear what the potential penalties would be for violating the TFR.



What is the reasoning for a 30-mile radius? I'm legitimately curious about that. At the outer edge of the TFR, you would be hard-pressed to find a drone that could make that distance and it wouldn't be a consumer drone.

TFR’s are not just for drones.

 

[BigAl07]

TFR’s are not just for drones.

Finally the best answer yet...

These aren't DRONE specific TFR's (in this instance).

 

[DoomMeister]

One thing that needs to be added is that they were violating not the 30nm TFR of game day that many consider to be overbearingly large, but smaller TFR’s that were in place over areas that were being used by large groups of people in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. I followed some of the postings of the TFR’s and there was a substantial list of them in the week or so leading up to game day.

 

[Rockgrip]

What would have happened if at that range something went wrong and it fell into a dense crowd.
Still a fine if they kill someone.

I would imagine the resulting civil lawsuit(s) would be significant.

 

[Rich QR]

What is the reasoning for a 30-mile radius? I'm legitimately curious about that. At the outer edge of the TFR, you would be hard-pressed to find a drone that could make that distance and it wouldn't be a consumer drone.

30 miles is about six minutes and fifteen seconds of flight time at 250 knots, the general speed limit below 10,000 ft. That's cutting it close to scramble fighters and have them intercept and disable an evildoer before he does harm.

Sure, a drone can't go that fast or far, but that's not the main threat the TFR is addressing.

 

[TampaTC]

Not looking for a fight, just informative answers.
How were they traced?
What would be the situation if j doe switches a drone on inside the nfz? Or flies within an escape proof containment inside the nfz e.g his house or hotel room?

Areoscope. DJI products are tracked daily in Tampa, and across the bay area. Note The Stadium is adjacent to Tampa International Airport. On any given day it is a Zero altitude zone. As for the Down town area, it is normally able to be flown, however events for the Super bowl encompasses the riverfront areas thru Downtown. That is what made the are an NFZ.
I will say The Airforce Base has the ability to track more than just DJI drones, Public Services in the area have fixed antenna Areoscope, The Super bowl safety and security team has a mobile command unit with areoscope, The FBI have atleast one portable Arescope and use local police to respond to pilots locations.
I know more than 70 persons had violated the TFR over the week and many warnings were given, FAA follow ups will come to many of them. The 2 reported offenders are 107 (well were) and flew BLOS, Over People, in A posted TFR. Most likely forfeiture of drone, license, fines of 5k and probation upto 5 years.

HCSO Deputies respond to nearly 70 drone violations around Super Bowl events

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has responded to nearly 70 drone intrusions into No Fly Zones around Super Bowl Events.

www.abcactionnews.com

 

[jhodgesatmb]

According to that article, they were both licensed for 107 and knew about the TFR in place. They knew better.

From the press release from the Department of Justice for the charges filed against one of the pilots, the maximum sentence would be 1 year. I can't imagine they would push for jail time, it's more likely that they would be fined.

Even a noob like me can read and the regulations are clear about not flying over people or populated areas. No one would need to be told that the Super Bowl is both. I say throw the book at them, which may be a fine and loss of license, and set an example and precedent.

 

[Maviac]

What would have happened if at that range something went wrong and it fell into a dense crowd.
Still a fine if they kill someone.

Well, yes, but the fact that there is a fine doesn't mean the government couldn't charge the person with other offenses. In this case, it would probably be a state-level involuntary manslaughter charge, though there are some interesting legal aspects to that which, if I had more time, I'd analyze. Specifically, the relevance of violating a TFR on criminal liability. Fortunately, given the kinds of things we fly, the risk of that is minimal.

Aside from the criminal aspect, as someone else commented, the civil claim would be significant. Could they sue DJI (or whomever)? I'd guess not, based on federal preemption, but someone could try. It would be easy to at least create a jury question (in a claim against the pilot) whether they were negligent to fly a UAV such that it is possible it could hit someone, though if I were the defense attorney I'd argue regulatory preemption (losing argument, I think, and thankfully I'm not a civil defense attorney any more who has to argue things like that).

 

[Maviac]

Areoscope. DJI products are tracked daily in Tampa, and across the bay area. Note The Stadium is adjacent to Tampa International Airport. On any given day it is a Zero altitude zone. As for the Down town area, it is normally able to be flown, however events for the Super bowl encompasses the riverfront areas thru Downtown. That is what made the are an NFZ.
I will say The Airforce Base has the ability to track more than just DJI drones, Public Services in the area have fixed antenna Areoscope, The Super bowl safety and security team has a mobile command unit with areoscope, The FBI have atleast one portable Arescope and use local police to respond to pilots locations.
I know more than 70 persons had violated the TFR over the week and many warnings were given, FAA follow ups will come to many of them. The 2 reported offenders are 107 (well were) and flew BLOS, Over People, in A posted TFR. Most likely forfeiture of drone, license, fines of 5k and probation upto 5 years.

HCSO Deputies respond to nearly 70 drone violations around Super Bowl events

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has responded to nearly 70 drone intrusions into No Fly Zones around Super Bowl Events.

www.abcactionnews.com

Yeah. I went to the Super Bowl a few years ago (and work 3 blocks from the stadium) and there were federal agents all over downtown with weird looking but presumably sophisticated detectors of some sort, plus radiation-detecting helicopters, plus fighter jets, circling nonstop the whole week. I'm sure the NSA/FBI or whomever, after spending many millions on this, had Aeroscopes and probably something more sophisticated deployed all around the city.

I mentioned this at the time, but when I was at the game, there were drones (mostly tethered, looked like some type of Matrice) all around us. I don't know if they were NFL security or government. I'll admit, I felt pretty dang safe and liked the fact that there were a few drones looking around for anything.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

It is sad that a game of football requires such extraordinary measures.

 

[DoomMeister]

What most people fail to realize is that the broadcast networks are the main reason for the TFR’s around the games anyway. They don’t want anyone giving the game away for free on social media.

Public safety is only a secondary item.

 

[TampaTC]

What most people fail to realize is that the broadcast networks are the main reason for the TFR’s around the games anyway. They don’t want anyone giving the game away for free on social media.

Public safety is only a secondary item.

If you noticed no blimp this year, CBS had a Cessna with a very nice HD camera on it doing the sky views.
The NFL don't use drones inside or outside the stadiums. Local government can un SOME instances use them.
The TFR's provide layers of operation, stating UAS, Private (VFR) Visual aircraft ,Private (IFR) Instrument aircraft, Commercial aircraft, Millitary aircraft, and Operation specific aircraft.
Also note that Helium balloons and kites are watched for potential threats. Both have rules in place by the FAA.
The thought of short flight times and payload limitations are changing all the time, all it takes is a small destructive device to change everything. There is a company now making a hydrogen power cell for UAV's. Just stay observant and if you see something say somthing.

 

[Classic flyer]

What you think the outcome will be. Maybe a hefty fine .
I find it hard to believe they would get time unless they
had been warned before even if they knew better.

I live in Florida and I can say that the local news outlets along with law enforcement agencies let it be known days ahead of the game that Federal STATE and local L E agencies where watching out for "ILLEGAL DRONE" operations and that any one violating the NO FLY ZONE would be tracked down and prosecuted to the full extent of the law....

 

[cgmaxed]

I agree with @anotherlab as it will most likely be "just" fines and probably some form of "Community Service" along the lines or speaking to schools and groups about UAS Rules/Regulations and why they are important.

I do hope the fines are significant and neither of these guys are allowed to fly under Part 107 ever again.

Wait a minute. The flight restrictions were 30 MILES. We don't even know why or where they were flying. The media is misleading. They could have simply been doing a 107 commercial project that just happened to be 25 miles away. We don't know if they had any intent to fly over the superbowl itself. Where were they in this insane 30 mile radius. 3 miles away, 10, 20, 25, 29. Where?

I live in Florida and I can say that the local news outlets along with law enforcement agencies let it be known days ahead of the game that Federal STATE and local L E agencies where watching out for "ILLEGAL DRONE" operations and that any one violating the NO FLY ZONE would be tracked down and prosecuted to the full extent of the law....

DO YOU KNOW HOW FAR AWAY THEY WERE? What if they were just doing roof inspection 25 miles away. Yeah, that would be a violation. 30 miles is insane. I bet those guys weren't even near the actual game/bowl.

Idiots who do not deserve to have drones.

30 miles? thiiiirrrrtttttyyyy MILES !!!???? That's insane. These guys weren't even trying to fly into the superbowl or film anything related to it. Who knows what they were flying for. Yeah, its illegal, but geese. Take it easy. They aren't felons. Hopefully they won't be after the judge hears their cases. 30 miles should be illegal in itself. It's insanity.

 

[MobileFaculty]

Okay... so as the late Paul Harvey would say - what is "The Rest of the Story?"
Why would two FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot certificated operators knowing and intentionally violate a TFR that every aviator in the U.S. was aware of?
Why would they (with or without a lawyer present) confess or admit to this violation?
What was their intent in violating this TFR?

The other questions I have are purely investigatory - what altitude were they operating, how long were they in operation, what images were they capturing (if any), what were the drones they were flying, who else was involved, etc.

I'm less interested in how the FBI was able to track them (re: remote ID, active radar, etc.,) and more interested in whether this was a 'head fake' to test the response time and effort by authorities to such incursions.
Does anyone happen to know anything further?
~
EM

 

[RS6_Pilot]

What would have happened if at that range something went wrong and it fell into a dense crowd.
Still a fine if they kill someone.

Good point.

However, I don't think they flew into the stadium. Any of our drones can fall at anytime and hit someone. We should always consider that.

 

[cgmaxed]

Okay... so as the late Paul Harvey would say - what is "The Rest of the Story?"
Why would two FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot certificated operators knowing and intentionally violate a TFR that every aviator in the U.S. was aware of?
Why would they (with or without a lawyer present) confess or admit to this violation?
What was their intent in violating this TFR?

The other questions I have are purely investigatory - what altitude were they operating, how long were they in operation, what images were they capturing (if any), what were the drones they were flying, who else was involved, etc.

I'm less interested in how the FBI was able to track them (re: remote ID, active radar, etc.,) and more interested in whether this was a 'head fake' to test the response time and effort by authorities to such incursions.
Does anyone happen to know anything further?
~
EM

Here is an idea. Taken from Wikipidia; THE AGENT PROVOCATEUR.
An agent provocateur (French for "inciting agent") is a person who commits or who acts to entice another person to commit an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation or entice legal action against the target or a group they belong to or are perceived to belong to. They may target any group, such as a peaceful protest or demonstration, a union, a political party or a company "OR, A HOBBYIST GROUP."

In jurisdictions in which conspiracy is a serious crime in itself, it can be sufficient for the agent provocateur to entrap the target into discussing and planning an illegal act. It is not necessary for the illegal act to be carried out or even prepared.

 

[Wolf865]

Newbie question... so in the situation involving the Super Bowl. Very large area they designated as a NFZ. Does that ground all drones or can recreational users still take theirs to the local park/field as long as they keep it away from the target area and keep it within a reasonable distance/elevation to themselves?