Arrested or fined multiple drone pilots in California fires

[Jim622]

Los Angeles wildfires: California police arrest multiple drone pilots as firefighters battle infernos

Los Angeles police arrested three people following drone incidents in wildfire areas as first responders battle infernos raging in Southern California.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Rchawks]

Good!

 

[Bad Santa]

Can't see "FOX" articles and I refuse to allow them to put cookies on my computer.

 

[Jim622]

LOL. The funny thing is that I don't allow ads on my computer.

 

[GroovyGeek]

With so many DNS level and blockers available there is really no reason to ever see ads unless you want to.

Good that they are taking names and dishing punishment. I can't say that I am a saint when it comes to drone ops, but whatever small liberties I take are always in the back country 10s of miles, sometimes 100+, away from inhabited area. Flying in a TFR is just dumb. With all sorts of apps available these days there is no excuse to not know about flight restrictions.

 

[mavic3usa]

Yep no worries, just keep arresting them; won't make a difference. They are taking names but there is no real punishment. They can't even tell us what these "unspecified" charges are. But I hope at least one of these go to trial, we need a court case.

 

[Bad Santa]

Yep no worries, just keep arresting them; won't make a difference. They are taking names but there is no real punishment. They can't even tell us what these "unspecified" charges are. But I hope at least one of these go to trial, we need a court case.

Violating restricted airspace is the infraction. I don't know if it's a crime.
I know a manned pilot would lose their license for this sort of thing.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Violating restricted airspace is the infraction. I don't know if it's a crime.
I know a manned pilot would lose their license for this sort of thing.

FAA TFR Violation Punishments

A TFR violation can carry stiff penalties! Find out how much prison time & thousands of dollars in in fines can result by a TFR violation.

jrupprechtlaw.com

 

[Erk1024]

It's a jerk move (I'd use stronger language, but it's a civil forum) to fly your drone while the emergency aircraft are trying to put out the fire. The planes and helicopters dumping fire retardant have to fly low. Just don't fly!

 

[Jim622]

I hope they catch a lot more of them. We don't need reckless fliers.

 

[Vic Moss]

Glad to see this. Looking forward to learning more.

 

[Cafguy]

Disrupting Emergency services is a CRIME and if someone dies because your drone was in the area and kept air ambulances away you could be charged with that death!
Think about it. No life is worth a picture or video!
I as well as other have talked about the uselessness of RID and in normal circumstances The government has very few ways of reading RID and almost NO equipment to do so. That does not mean if they are close enough that they cannot see you, It only means, usually they don't look.
In L.A. they are watching!!!
Then there is Aerial Armor. This system, usually reserved for places like the white house Or chairman Disneys Palace.
Is deployed in the L.A. area it can pinpoint any drone that is moving in the area and it doesnt require RID.
In other words YOU WILL BE CAUGHT even if you think you got away with it...You didnt.
Its only gonna get worse with the winds we are getting the next few days. The best thing we all can do is stay the heck out of the way and let the Firefighting Hero's do their job.

 

[Vic Moss]

Then there is Aerial Armor. This system, usually reserved for places like the white house Or chairman Disneys Palace.

Lots of airport use Aerial Armor too. As do many cities like L.A. as you mention. And Aerial Armor has a VERY long range compared to Aeroscope.

Is deployed in the L.A. area it can pinpoint any drone that is moving in the area and it doesnt require RID.
In other words YOU WILL BE CAUGHT even if you think you got away with it...You didnt.
Its only gonna get worse with the winds we are getting the next few days. The best thing we all can do is stay the heck out of the way and let the Firefighting Hero's do their job.

 

[tstr14]

Violating restricted airspace is the infraction. I don't know if it's a crime.
I know a manned pilot would lose their license for this sort of thing.

If I understand things correctly, which is questionable at times, The FAA doesn't have the power to arrest/jail individuals but does have the power to issue fines. The FCC is similar in that respect. Hit these guys with a $10,000 fine and make sure the news carries the story, and I bet there would be a rapid decline in the number of drone flights.

 

[Vic Moss]

If I understand things correctly, which is questionable at times, The FAA doesn't have the power to arrest/jail individuals but does have the power to issue fines. The FCC is similar in that respect. Hit these guys with a $10,000 fine and make sure the news carries the story, and I bet there would be a rapid decline in the number of drone flights.

When an investigation turns criminal, the FAA brings in the DOJ. The FAA can only impose civil or licensing penalties. But with the FBI involved with the TFR and tanker crash already, we'll likely see DOJ penalties. The FBI is already sending out subpoenas over these incidents.

 

[KB9Radio]

I have no sympathy for folks that would even think of putting a drone in the air under those circumstances. Fine the heck out of them and throw them in jail to make an example of them.

 

[spamgnome]

I'm still amazed, in a bad way, that there are comments on other forums as well as YT that are questioning if the drone that hit the Super Scooper was even a drone. Then there's the nonsense about how we don't need rules because the bad actors will ignore them anyway. We need to own up to these bad actors and police our own yards if we want to be allowed to enjoy our drones.

 

[Capt KO]

At least we know RID works, 48 drone flights have been recorded in restricted areas..so far. Expect many more fines in the future.

 

[chadCO]

Don't need civil penalties, simply publish the offenders home address, karma has a way of being delivered to the deserving if its enabled.

 

[chadCO]

At least we know RID works, 48 drone flights have been recorded in restricted areas..so far. Expect many more fines in the future.

If RID info has been captured it should be made public.... Then it can be assured accountability is delivered to the guilty.