Instagram photo illustrates violation of FAA rules

[ajkm]

I wish more people would mind their business, we all know the rules. If you are that interested in teaching the rules, may I suggest becoming a 107 instructor?

It would be good to be a part of the solution rather than responding with this kind of passive aggressive comment.

 

[baddog]

There is a ton of great drone photography on Instagram. However, I repeatedly see photos where the drone was obviously flying over moving automotive traffic. Although I considered leaving a comment to point out the rule, I did not because I expect to be flamed for it. (people can get very nasty if policed online by their peers.) Adoring comments suggest that followers don't know the rules. I expect the pilot to know the rules; I seriously doubt that a waiver allowed them to fly above traffic.

If someone violates a clear rule and then proudly posts the evidence on Instagram, seems they're inviting trouble from the FAA.
Has anyone ever heard of a drone pilot getting in trouble because they posted the photo/video evidence online?

(I believe the gist of the moving vehicles rule is this: If an object falls from the sky and smashes into the hood of your car, you're probably going to panic and end in a collision with other vehicles.)

I fly a lot of commercial real estate jobs and so....There really is no luxury of finding a place to fly with no traffic.

I am just conscious of my environment

 

[Giovanni]

It would be good to be a part of the solution rather than responding with this kind of passive aggressive comment.

I do fly responsibly. If there are people around, I let them know I'm about to fly and my expected pattern. I personally never had a bad experience and I fly about 2-3 times a week for the last 3 years. Peace.

 

[Bob1956]

If there's contact info with the photo send it off to the FAA. Let them figure it out. I've worked in commercial aircraft maintenance most of my working life. If it's wrong notify somebody, never let it pass. In fact I can be held liable if I saw something wrong and didn't report it. Maybe it's a habit from work that I carry over to the drones. I do fly safe and I have the most boring drone videos to prove it. But I'm happy.

Sooner or later somebody is going drop a drone on busy highway. And we're in the papers again and probably Congress.

Like it not when your drone clears the treetops, you are now a member of the aviation community. And aviation has rules, lots of rules.

 

[BigAl07]

If there's contact info with the photo send it off to the FAA. Let them figure it out. I've worked in commercial aircraft maintenance most of my working life. If it's wrong notify somebody, never let it pass. In fact I can be held liable if I saw something wrong and didn't report it. Maybe it's a habit from work that I carry over to the drones. I do fly safe and I have the most boring drone videos to prove it. But I'm happy.

Sooner or later somebody is going drop a drone on busy highway. And we're in the papers again and probably Congress.

Like it not when your drone clears the treetops, you are now a member of the aviation community. And aviation has rules, lots of rules.

Well said sir

 

[xunhui]

Well
Let me ask , how many of you have a driving license , quite a few I imagine .
That license allows you the privilege to drive where ever we so desire .
Does that license give you the place to report all the driving law infractions, I don’t think so , some might disagree and if so do you report every infraction you witness or do you carry on with the day .
I’d say reporting driving issues is mainly a job for the law enforcement agencies.
Also there are people who have no interest in getting their license they are out much of the time doing whatever , they possibly break the driving rules and don’t care .

So then I feel the whole drone thing is the same to a degree , most of us learn the rules , get their license and fly , they stick to the rules occasionally make an error or two here and there (I base this on my own case ) .
But then there are some drone owners who don’t give a rap about the rules , the license etc , they go out to fly and break every rule there is .
So then shouldn’t we allow the law enforcement of the skies to police any rule breaking .
I personally don’t feel looking at online photos/videos gives me the full picture of exactly what went on , so I would leave that to whichever law making body is effected .
I would also say that If I was interested enough to go online and look for badly behaving drones , well in short I don’t have that much time left in the world !! , there must be gazillions of them , much like all the drivers that may speed or get a parking ticket .

I got my drones and license for the enjoyment of flying and I use the knowledge to make me a better pilot .
I don’t use the knowledge to report every photo that I “ think “ may have broken a rule , possibly in a country that I have little or no knowledge about .

So like someone said earlier

Live and let live !!!

That’s of course it’s not effected me and my family’s welfare !!
Then the gloves come off .

These are my thoughts and feelings alone , maybe right may be wrong .

Thanks for reading my post .

Disagree with you...

I do not think everyone is saying to go get your official "Drone Police" cap and badge out. I personally don't really care at all what you do. Sorry, you're just not that interesting to me and if you do something wrong I am not going to run to the local police department. Most everyone that has flown a drone can most likely say that did something they should not have and learned from that mistake. I can tell you I have and yes being ignorant of the rules and laws can have an negative impact upon our hobby or business. I learned and moved forward and now hopefully I am a better pilot from my mistake.

Having a drivers license does not allow you to drive anywhere you so desire, simple fact, you can't. For your own safety and the safety of others you will follow the laws and rules of your state or you will not be allowed the privilege of driving. Driving is not a constitutional right but a privilege and one that requires you to be fully capable of operating the vehicle and obeying all laws. If you so desire not do so that is your right and I totally feel you should do as you wish. I am not your mother or the police watching you. But if your wishes are not to follow and abide per the laws then you are a danger to society and those privileges will be taken from you. Not from me but from the state. If you are driving down the hi-way crossing your lanes, nor can stay in your lane I will call the police. You are a danger to yourself and everyone around you.

I understand that we all want our freedom to do as we wish. To self police ourselves and do the right thing as best we can. Most everyone does this to some degree and tries to obey the laws and practice safety. But the simple fact is, there are people that will never learn and some just don't care to learn. Some think their freedom to do as they wish comes before safety and basic common sense. No, I've not seen a 1-dro-nei-diot hot line number to call in my neighbors, really don't want to do that. As you said, the law enforcement should handle it, which I agree. But I sure do not want a camera on every street corner watching us which unless we start actively helping law enforcement this might become our future.

I have enough cameras watching me at all times right now. In fact I am by far safer than most Americans back home. Don't turn the United States into a police state due to lack of involvement with your community. If you see someone not obeying the laws you have the moral responsibility to do something about it. Not a legal responsibility, but in fact a moral obligation. An moral obligation to your country, your family and to yourself.

If not, I'll just come over and kick you in your sac, happy now? ?


Just be safe, be part of our community and help make our life better and keep our freedom. We don't need more laws...

 

[Deleted member 114292]

I wish more people would mind their business, we all know the rules. If you are that interested in teaching the rules, may I suggest becoming a 107 instructor?

And I wish more people would point out when the rules aren’t followed. If you’re not interested in following the rules may I suggest you go to the DJI forum where pretty much anything is allowed.

 

[old man mavic]

come on now guys lets keep things civil
we all love our pastime ,and passions come into play when we see things that have a negative effect on our ability to fly where we want
lets all sing off the same hymn sheet, and do all we can to improve the negative image, that drones have been labeled with in the media
the sight of us bickering amongst ourselves on this forum does not send a good message

 

[xunhui]

come on now guys lets keep things civil
we all love our pastime ,and passions come into play when we see things that have a negative effect on our ability to fly where we want
lets all sing off the same hymn sheet, and do all we can to improve the negative image, that drones have been labeled with in the media
the sight of us bickering amongst ourselves on this forum does not send a good message

I think it's pretty civil for the most part old man mavic. Just everyone saying how they feel and their thoughts. It's doesn't matter which path we take on our journey. Just so that we all get there safely and enjoy our way there. ?

 

[xunhui]

In my opinion this is not the reason we are seeing restrictive laws placed upon the drone industry. If people on the left don't like something, they will regulate the heck out of it. It's easier to say no you can't do it rather than to learn and understand the sport and place sensible regulations upon it.

Partially correct and also read the entire post. In part is not an absolute, meaning there are other factors that play into the reasons why laws and regulations are created. I personally don't feel we need more regulations. Unfortunally not everyone has the capacity to self regulate. So it is us that does practice safety and respect for others that in the end will pay the price with another loss of freedom.

 

[Heavydpj]

A common example is flying over a famous bridge with the camera shooting straight down; clearly the drone is directly over the roadway and there is active auto traffic.

Without a COA for that activity (and they are only very rarely granted), it's a clear violation of FAA rules, and could earn someone a fine. It's agains the FAA rules because it's dangerous.

Another example I've seen a half dozen times is a photo looking down upon a recognizable hairpin turn, where the forest service prohibits launch/land within 1/4 mile of this road.

Also ostensibly a violation, but perhaps not. I have gotten some AWESOME shots of a rather long civil war bridge here in VA. It's against VA law to "operate" the drone within park boundaries, just as it is agains NPS rules to operate a drone within national park boundaries.

HOWEVER, it IS permissible to fly over those same locations, just as long as you launch and recover from a permissible location (in your case, more than a 1/4 mile from the turn) and maintain visual on the craft. Solution? Have an observer with on the location with a phone (perfectly legal) to keep an eye on the craft in the objective area. In my case, I launched from about 1,500m away from a private farm that gave me permission.

NOT a violation.

 

[Estabro]

Well
Let me ask , how many of you have a driving license , quite a few I imagine .
That license allows you the privilege to drive where ever we so desire .
Does that license give you the place to report all the driving law infractions, I don’t think so , some might disagree and if so do you report every infraction you witness or do you carry on with the day .
I’d say reporting driving issues is mainly a job for the law enforcement agencies.
Also there are people who have no interest in getting their license they are out much of the time doing whatever , they possibly break the driving rules and don’t care .

So then I feel the whole drone thing is the same to a degree , most of us learn the rules , get their license and fly , they stick to the rules occasionally make an error or two here and there (I base this on my own case ) .
But then there are some drone owners who don’t give a rap about the rules , the license etc , they go out to fly and break every rule there is .
So then shouldn’t we allow the law enforcement of the skies to police any rule breaking .
I personally don’t feel looking at online photos/videos gives me the full picture of exactly what went on , so I would leave that to whichever law making body is effected .
I would also say that If I was interested enough to go online and look for badly behaving drones , well in short I don’t have that much time left in the world !! , there must be gazillions of them , much like all the drivers that may speed or get a parking ticket .

I got my drones and license for the enjoyment of flying and I use the knowledge to make me a better pilot .
I don’t use the knowledge to report every photo that I “ think “ may have broken a rule , possibly in a country that I have little or no knowledge about .

So like someone said earlier

Live and let live !!!

That’s of course it’s not effected me and my family’s welfare !!
Then the gloves come off .

These are my thoughts and feelings alone , maybe right may be wrong .

Thanks for reading my post .

I have to admit I tend to agree with this. The rules are pretty simple so it's not like we don't know them. As someone who has broken a number of rules and a handful of laws, I avoid traffic violations because I fear the consequences. Not because I want to set a good example. The consequence of getting a ticket or putting life/lives in danger is enough. This is not the case for drone violations, tickets are very rarely handed out and casualties via drone are even more rare. The fact is, operating a drone is not and never will be as dangerous as operating an automobile. That being said, having someone remind you to be safe isn't a big deal at all.

 

[Calm]

Although I considered leaving a comment to point out the rule, I did not because I expect to be flamed for it. (people can get very nasty if policed online by their peers.)

I had to laugh at this, considering the replies that followed here. ?

 

[wallyballs]

Without a COA for that activity (and they are only very rarely granted), it's a clear violation of FAA rules, and could earn someone a fine. It's agains the FAA rules because it's dangerous.



Also ostensibly a violation, but perhaps not. I have gotten some AWESOME shots of a rather long civil war bridge here in VA. It's against VA law to "operate" the drone within park boundaries, just as it is agains NPS rules to operate a drone within national park boundaries.

HOWEVER, it IS permissible to fly over those same locations, just as long as you launch and recover from a permissible location (in your case, more than a 1/4 mile from the turn) and maintain visual on the craft. Solution? Have an observer with on the location with a phone (perfectly legal) to keep an eye on the craft in the objective area. In my case, I launched from about 1,500m away from a private farm that gave me permission.

NOT a violation.

I think if you look closer into the rules of NPS and FAA, you find that your not allowed to fly over a NP no mater where you take off from.. The National Park Service requests that pilots maintain a minimum distance of 2,000 feet from the nearest ground mass to minimize wildlife disturbance. Per FAA

 

[baddog]

I think if you look closer into the rules of NPS and FAA, you find that your not allowed to fly over a NP no mater where you take off from.. The National Park Service requests that pilots maintain a minimum distance of 2,000 feet from the nearest ground mass to minimize wildlife disturbance. Per FAA

Very true, but state parks you should be good to go. Always check local regs though