Flying over crowds?

[Jimck9]

I went to the Phliadephia Fleadh music festival. I didn't take long before I noticed someone flying a drone smaller than my Zoom(looked like an Air). He was filming band and crowd shots; walking among the crowd and trying to keep track of what he was filming and where is aircraft was. He flew as low as ten feet or so to get shots of the stages under their tents. Didn't want to say anything and cause a scene but I'm an acquaintance of one of the organizers so I expressed my concern to him. He said the drone operator was licensed and had assurances from the operator that he had FAA clearance to fly. I let it ride and said nothing. I checked my AirMap app and we were indeed on the flight path into NE Phil. Airport. The next drone that appeared was the same guy flying a Phantom model. Doing the same stuff over the crowd all around the venue. Also saw the operator manning video equipment and tripped mounted cell phones to capture sound and video. My question is, does Part 107 certification give you the ability to fly over and around crowded areas when you're in the flight path of a nearby airport?

 

[BigAl07]

My question is, does Part 107 certification give you the ability to fly over and around crowded areas when you're in the flight path of a nearby airport?

While it's possible (and that's a big IF) that an entity could get a waiver for flying over people (It's called § 107.39 ) I'd almost bet my entire bank account that the person/company you witnessed had nothing of the sort. The FAA has issued a few of them but they are given very discretely and in a very controlled situation. So far there have been a total of 29 issued and several of those have been issued to the same person/entity.

The next time you see such an activity you should report it and be sure to capture some video of it otherwise you are wasting your time to report it.
The FAA expects us to report unsafe Aviation acts when we see them.

Allen

 

[zocalo]

He said the drone operator was licensed and had assurances from the operator that he had FAA clearance to fly.

The key word in there for me is "assurances"; if the pilot really had a Part 107 waiver he'd have had actual paperwork and been able to offer more than what sounds awfully like a verbal "it's all above board".

As @BigAl07 says, we should be gathering evidence and reporting incidents like this, especially since this sounds like someone who probably has a Part 107 and should know better. The FAA might also be interested in the festival organizers for that matter; it doesn't sound like they're being as diligent as they should be in checking their pilot's bona-fides, and as such would probably be on the hook as well had anything gone wrong.

 

[53-63-6f-74-74]

Waivers are publicly available.

Part 107 Waivers Issued

www.faa.gov

 

[Texbow]

I went to the Phliadephia Fleadh music festival. I didn't take long before I noticed someone flying a drone smaller than my Zoom(looked like an Air). He was filming band and crowd shots; walking among the crowd and trying to keep track of what he was filming and where is aircraft was. He flew as low as ten feet or so to get shots of the stages under their tents. Didn't want to say anything and cause a scene but I'm an acquaintance of one of the organizers so I expressed my concern to him. He said the drone operator was licensed and had assurances from the operator that he had FAA clearance to fly. I let it ride and said nothing. I checked my AirMap app and we were indeed on the flight path into NE Phil. Airport. The next drone that appeared was the same guy flying a Phantom model. Doing the same stuff over the crowd all around the venue. Also saw the operator manning video equipment and tripped mounted cell phones to capture sound and video. My question is, does Part 107 certification give you the ability to fly over and around crowded areas when you're in the flight path of a nearby airport?

I like how you handled this. You didn't lecture the drone operator but inquired about the situation with the organizer. This validates that the organizer has knowledge and approves of the drone operators actions and makes it easier for the PROPER authorities to investigate if you choose to report it.

 

[brettbrandon]

Waivers are publicly available.

Part 107 Waivers Issued

www.faa.gov

Go to that page and do a search for 107.39 (flying over humans) and there is only a handful.

You can check the date to see if there was one for the event....

 

[Scutmud]

The music fest hasn’t happened yet, so this incident is from last year?

 

[TR Ganey]

Did he actually fly over anyone or just “close” to someone. I recently videoed a small town festival where I showed up early before it got too crowded. I flew as low as 8’ as I videoed the antique and classic cars. I tried to stay either under or right next to the drone making sure no one could walk under it.

 

[kidologist]

Waivers are publicly available.

Part 107 Waivers Issued

www.faa.gov

Wow, that is cool!