Iowa Battleship and Big Brother

[Rabber]

I went to film the USS Iowa Battleship in San Pedro. (Southern California). There were no Geo Zone restrictions where I was filming. After a few minutes of filming the battleship, I was greeted by the police and told drones were prohibited in the harbor. In fact, the entire Los Angeles harbor system is off limits.

Talking with the police I learned. A. The second I powered up my drone and controller the port security was alerted of a drone presence. B. All of my drone registration information was instantly sent to them. C. One of the 300 plus surveillance cameras had me on screen.

The good news is. When I first took off I received a low battery warning and had to return. Security assumed I was leaving and called off the police and went about their business. I replaced the battery and took off again to film some great video of the battleship (Coming soon) . I was just wraping up when the police did arrive. They were kind enough to not give me a ticket.

 

[66427cobra]

You must standoff 3000' laterally and 1000' vertically from any US Naval Vessel. Potential penalties are much more than a ticket. Relevant links from 2019 below. If you did not comply with these restrictions, you might want to reconsider posting the video on ANY platform.

You dodged a bullet. Don't poke the tiger. Thank your lucky stars. End of cliches...?

FAA Establishes Restrictions on Drone Operations Near U.S. Navy Vessels

www.faa.gov

NOTAM 82314

UAS NOTAM FDC 9/3815 FDC 9/3815...FDC SECURITY… SPECIAL SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS) OPERATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF NAVAL BASE KITSAP AND NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE KINGS BAY. PURSUANT TO 49 U.S.C. SECTION 40103(B)(3), THE FAA CLASSIFIES THE AIRSPACE DEFINED IN THIS NOTAM...

udds-faa.opendata.arcgis.com

 

[Rabber]

You must standoff 3000' laterally and 1000' vertically from any US Naval Vessel. Potential penalties are much more than a ticket. Relevant links from 2019 below. If you did not comply with these restrictions, you might want to reconsider posting the video on ANY platform.

You dodged a bullet. Don't poke the tiger. Thank your lucky stars. End of cliches...?

FAA Establishes Restrictions on Drone Operations Near U.S. Navy Vessels

www.faa.gov

NOTAM 82314

UAS NOTAM FDC 9/3815 FDC 9/3815...FDC SECURITY… SPECIAL SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS) OPERATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF NAVAL BASE KITSAP AND NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE KINGS BAY. PURSUANT TO 49 U.S.C. SECTION 40103(B)(3), THE FAA CLASSIFIES THE AIRSPACE DEFINED IN THIS NOTAM...

udds-faa.opendata.arcgis.com

Sorry, I should explain more. The Iowa is a world War 2 battleship/museum docked at San Pedro. Tourist site not military.

 

[66427cobra]

Sorry, I should explain more. The Iowa is a world War 2 battleship/museum docked at San Pedro. Tourist site not military.

That may work in your favor but the restrictions don't specifically state that it is limited to active/commissioned vessels. That could leave it up to the interpretation of the authorities. The fact that they responded in the manner they did indicates that some sort of restriction is in effect.

The USS Iowa does appear to be located in an area where LAANC approval would be required and altitude limited to 200' AGL.

Be careful out there...

 

[Saladshooter]

I did a quick look on the Internet and it seems that the port of Los Angeles has indeed been restricted from drone flights without a permit. My guess is that this is not a legal restriction if challenged in court but it would be a long road to get a ruling in your favor.

The article I read also mentioned that they had the technology in place to detect drones as the OP indicated. Big Brother is here.

 

[hiflyer201]

Talking with the police I learned. A. The second I powered up my drone and controller the port security was alerted of a drone presence. B. All of my drone registration information was instantly sent to them. C. One of the 300 plus surveillance cameras had me on screen.

Interesting. I wonder what the outer limit's of the restricted area are. The Iowa is located next to the cruise terminal and I've always thought that would be a fun place to video. When I was young..ages ago.. we used to water ski in the LA harbor late at night. The water was smooth as silk. Times have changed but even now I always try to wake up early when returning from a cruise to watch our entry through the breakwater and into the harbor. It still looks the same..so quiet and so beautiful.

 

[GFields]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[DoomMeister]

I did a quick look on the Internet and it seems that the port of Los Angeles has indeed been restricted from drone flights without a permit. My guess is that this is not a legal restriction if challenged in court but it would be a long road to get a ruling in your favor.

The article I read also mentioned that they had the technology in place to detect drones as the OP indicated. Big Brother is here.

There seems to be nothing preventing it in terms of airspace. They may have restrictions for takeoff and landing in effect though. Are there postings in the area that state that drone flights are prohibited?

 

[Saladshooter]

From the Port of Los Angeles website:

"The Port of Los Angeles is a “No Drone Zone.” Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly referred to as drones, are strictly prohibited for public use.

As defined in Los Angeles Municipal Code 63.44 (B) 8, no person shall land, take off or fly any balloon, except children’s toy balloons not inflated with any flammable material, helicopter, parakite, hang glider, aircraft or powered models thereof, except in areas specifically set aside for therefor."

This looks like they are trying to regulate airspace as well in defiance of the FAA. Like I said probably not a legal restriction but getting arrested to prove you are right can be costly.

 

[BigAl07]

From the Port of Los Angeles website:

"The Port of Los Angeles is a “No Drone Zone.” Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly referred to as drones, are strictly prohibited for public use.

As defined in Los Angeles Municipal Code 63.44 (B) 8, no person shall land, take off or fly any balloon, except children’s toy balloons not inflated with any flammable material, helicopter, parakite, hang glider, aircraft or powered models thereof, except in areas specifically set aside for therefor."

This looks like they are trying to regulate airspace as well in defiance of the FAA. Like I said probably not a legal restriction but getting arrested to prove you are right can be costly.

No that's fairly typical "Land Use" Ordinance speak for the most part. They specifically state land, take off, fly (as in where you stand when you are "operating/controlling" the aircraft.

 

[thispilothere]

Are ports considered key infrastructure?

 

[Saladshooter]

No that's fairly typical "Land Use" Ordinance speak for the most part. They specifically state land, take off, fly (as in where you stand when you are "operating/controlling" the aircraft.

So your interpretation of this is if you were on your own property adjacent to the Port you could overfly the general area legally? ...... maybe not the battleship area as that may be governed by its own set of laws.

 

[DoomMeister]

So your interpretation of this is if you were on your own property adjacent to the Port you could overfly the general area legally? ...... maybe not the battleship area as that may be governed by its own set of laws.

The biggest issue from what I can see is launching outside the area and over flying it would most likely have you flying BVLOS. Without a waiver for that you would have little to stand on should they track you down and decide to pursue legal action.

It looks like there would be a considerable number of people in the area during daylight hours and overflight of people, vehicles, boats, and such is against regulations.

 

[MARK (LI)]

Are ports considered key infrastructure?

Ports are considered extremely critical and require TWIC credentials to work in them and MARSEC (Maritime Security) prevails....the regs for the Harbor are similar to those in New York City.....you can launch from outside the area that is off limits and fly over ( as long as you don't fly into otherwise restricted or controlled airspace) and it will withstand a legal challenge ... they may not be able to dictate the use of airspace...but they can regulate any activity that occurs while your feet are on the ground in their jurisdiction

 

[MARK (LI)]

I did a quick look on the Internet and it seems that the port of Los Angeles has indeed been restricted from drone flights without a permit. My guess is that this is not a legal restriction if challenged in court but it would be a long road to get a ruling in your favor.

The article I read also mentioned that they had the technology in place to detect drones as the OP indicated. Big Brother is here.

There was a video on here recently from England demonstrating drone detection equipment that allows the operator of the detection machine to not just detect drones in the air...but the operator has the ability to take full control of the drone and the owner cannot regain control..the owner loses the drone

 

[4006448]

I did a quick look on the Internet and it seems that the port of Los Angeles has indeed been restricted from drone flights without a permit. My guess is that this is not a legal restriction if challenged in court but it would be a long road to get a ruling in your favor.

The article I read also mentioned that they had the technology in place to detect drones as the OP indicated. Big Brother is here.

We have similar restrictions here - I believe in relation to national security / anti- terrorist measures. Harbours, ports, essential services etc. a shame because aerial footage would be great!

 

[Riteguy]

I went to film the USS Iowa Battleship in San Pedro. (Southern California). There were no Geo Zone restrictions where I was filming. After a few minutes of filming the battleship, I was greeted by the police and told drones were prohibited in the harbor. In fact, the entire Los Angeles harbor system is off limits.

Talking with the police I learned. A. The second I powered up my drone and controller the port security was alerted of a drone presence. B. All of my drone registration information was instantly sent to them. C. One of the 300 plus surveillance cameras had me on screen.

The good news is. When I first took off I received a low battery warning and had to return. Security assumed I was leaving and called off the police and went about their business. I replaced the battery and took off again to film some great video of the battleship (Coming soon) . I was just wraping up when the police did arrive. They were kind enough to not give me a ticket.

Interesting... I was not aware of the restrictions for this area. I have flown over Queensway Bay and shot photos of the Queen Mary, which is adjacent to the cruise terminal. Based upon what you learned, is this area also off-limits?

 

[journo]

I'm joining this late, but it appears according to Visualize It, which I often use for work flights, this battleship is a museum in D airspace with a 200' ceiling, with authorization. It seems like if a drone took off outside port property and flew in to FAA authorized airspace and the pilot stays under 200 feet it's legal, even though it's over this area. Then again, even though the ship is a museum, the FAA language says "any U.S. Navy vessel." Meanwhile, the red boxes below the museum are clearly restricted airspace over piers. Fyi.

 

[journo]

A quick search says the ship is not run by the Navy but:
<<Pacific Battleship Center
The museum is operated by Pacific Battleship Center, a 501c3 non-profit organization solely supported by admissions, donations, event space rentals, and gift shop. We do not receive government funding for our operations.Jan 5, 2021>>

It doesn't seem part of active military operations anymore.

 

[journo]

I'm joining this late, but it appears according to Visualize It, which I often use for work flights, this battleship is a museum in D airspace with a 200' ceiling, with authorization. It seems like if a drone took off outside port property and flew in to FAA authorized airspace and the pilot stays under 200 feet it's legal, even though it's over this area. Then again, even though the ship is a museum, the FAA language says "any U.S. Navy vessel." Meanwhile, the red boxes below the museum are clearly restricted airspace over piers. Fyi.

But if there are Navy ships docked at that restricted red box pier, then the Iowa is clearly less than "3000' laterally" away, and hence: no drones permitted near the museum, or really anywhere near the port.