FAA Letter Requesting My Statement/Evidence Regarding a "Law Enforcement" Interferrence Operation

[Mavic Air Head]

I've worked on the border in AZ, dealt with the testosterone infused new recruits and have testified in Federal Hearings. Most important is to understand what you are up against. They have an unlimited budget and staff lawyers with nothing else to really do. The last thing you want to do is be perceived as belligerent in court. This isn't trying to be a low blow, do you have a clean record? No college days pot charges? No public nuisance charges? If so they will present you as a drug runner trying to skirt BP in spite of the facts. If you have a clean record they'll still destroy you. I know too many innocent people who have been put through the ringer by Feds solely because they can put anyone through the ringer. I would be lawyered up, have your flight logs showing everything as you described it, especially when you initiated the return to home and the adjustments you described, have an expert who can explain your flight logs to the court. Do you have video footage or photos cached on your controller/iphone/etc that backs you up? If it's on your Mavic you need to get access to that- remember it's evidence against you in their eyes. The fact that they ran this up the flag pole to the FAA scares me. They want to rip your head off no matter how decent you are or how law and order you are. With your lawyers, do everything you can to settle this out of court and get your bird back. Your first hearing is probably only going to be informing you of the charges against you, not a hearing of the facts. The judge will not tolerate you trying to present the facts, he'll only want to hear your plea, innocent or guilty. Find out for sure if this is just pretrial or a full hearing.
I got into a similar situation and could not have been more within my rights, innocent and compliant, so with chip on my shoulder I went into court believing in blind justice and got it handed to me. A judge is going to believe an officer of the court more than you. The officer was permitted to refer to his notes about the incident, I was forbidden to use my notes written immediately after the incident. If you go to court you could pay dearly. Too many courts love to rip the obedient because it's easy and release the thugs because of who knows what. Good luck and be very careful.

 

[kingsnake11]

BorderMavik, Sorry to hear about your predicament. I live close to the border with the US in Canada and I know for a fact that both Canadian and US authorities are really touchy about flying any RPAS (sUAV's) near the border. In fact, they have their own drones patrolling the areas. While I do believe that the agents you ran into probably over reacted, I think, as others have posted, that your best bet is to lay it out to the court exactly your understanding of the regulations and flight evidence. I have seen folks flying with vests indicating that they are FAA certified pilots... may help to de-escalate encounters....and perhaps, just letting the local ranger office know beforehand that you would be flying would have been helpful. You would have checked for any restrictions where you were flying and perhaps educate them on the regulations. What I found up here, and it's probably no different down there, is that not all authorities are up on the regulations. Good luck on your case and let us know what happens.

 

[Bigbird48]

I am not a lawyer, but my sense is that you are in pretty deep trouble, and should have had more sense than to fly there.

1. You are flying near a border, and there are all sorts of rules about being near a border. One example is the "enforceable distance" from the US coastline, which is twelve nautical miles. You are probably wrong in thinking that all US laws apply within that last few hundred yards from the border.

2. That border has been used for decades for all sorts of illegal smuggling operations, both drugs and human. I am sure the bad guys would love to use "almost undetectable" aerial surveillance to help them determine when and where it would be safe to attempt a crossing. A border agent cannot possibly tell the difference between you and the bad guys.

While I am no fan of our increasingly regulated country, and no longer fly because I can't stand the intrusive TSA searches, I nonetheless totally side with the border patrol on this one. My advice is to cut your losses, pay your fine, and play nice. You have a zero percent chance of winning a lawsuit because they have every right to do what they did because that is what "protecting the border" looks like.

Swallow your pride, pay the fine, beg for forgiveness and hope you get your drone returned.

The government has an abundance of resources to make your life miserable and bankrupt you with attorneys fees in the process. Just ask General Mike Flynn.

I would avoid any areas within 10-15 miles of our borders. You’re just asking for trouble if you don’t.

 

[Bigbird48]

Semper Fi Brother. Don't ever give up your constitutional rights for bullies with a badge. Thats what so many here do and then try to tell others to do it to, because their brainwashed and are scared to stand up for themselves If your 100% sure your right and did nothing wrong then fight to the bitter end. Thank you for your service

 

[BigAl07]

OP has left the forum at his own request.

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