Is Destroying Someone’s Drone Illegal?

[Olav van Gerven]

What would give a landowner the right to shoot down an aircraft over his property? I see nothing illegal about the OP's flight on its face.

The 2nd amendment: He thinks it is the NSA/CIA/FBI or the Republican Party spying on him to take his land. And to protect himself against a tyranicle Government, he has the right to use his guns to shoot the drone down.
(Don't take this to serious!)

 

[tcope]

A drone operator was flying near (not even directly over IIRC ) and the land owner shot his drone down with a shotgun. The judge did NOT follow what we feel like was the law as it's intended and more-or-less sided with the land owner.

I agree completely. I think it is obvious to most that the judge had no interest in following the law.

I always keep in mind Ben Stein's comment about how often judges rule with their feelings and not the law.

 

[tcope]

Um, no it’s not! I live in KY and it is illegal under state and federal law to shoot at an aircraft. That would be like saying it’s legal to shoot at a helicopter hovering over your property at 200 feet, and a sUAS is an aircraft.

As mentioned, what happen is a matter of fact. It was as I mentioned.

Also, a drone is simply the same as a manned aircraft. A manned aircraft is what you are referring to when you mention how the law applies to an "aircraft". People keep saying this but there is a huge difference.

 

[tcope]

That’s interesting, I understand the argument of trespassing, unwarranted surveillance, etc.; but I haven’t heard / read anything where a property Owner has any trespassing enforcement rights X above their property.

You are right. The judge was clearly wrong. I'm just pointing out that the law is not always... the law.

 

[Dougcjohn]

You are right. The judge was clearly wrong. I'm just pointing out that the law is not always... the law.

On that, I'd agree with you totally! Especially if it goes civil court, some Judges get the attitude they can make law and not interpret law... not their role. It often takes a spicy Attorney to challege or apply media attention to get a proper decision.

No matter the law, FAA, Federal, State... I'd focus on not challenging and work to avoid, that said I wouldn't aggravate while on scene and if important, I'd visit the Chief or City Rep. at a later time.

 

[Elude]

I wouldn’t fly my drone low enough that somebody could hit it with a rock or cast into it. I believe most judges would frown upon people shooting aircraft out of the sky. However in certain parts of the country it would not surprise me to have my drone open fire on nor would I leave it hovering for sometime.

That being said I did have somebody open fire on my drone with a gun twice but luckily they missed. This is in a country where his laws don’t apply. And it was in a major city.

 

[dronerdave]

If they could hit me maybe... but they couldn’t... as I stated before people take it upon themselves to attack me.. I did not fly over people or moving trains. I was off to the side. Watching an ahole throw a rock at me..

I understand wanting to fly over a RR yard. Makes for several interesting photographic targets. But I don't expect the standard public to know that a drone is considered an unmanned aircraft or even if it's legal or not to throw rocks at a UAV. If I happened upon some upset people on the way to what I'm planning to image, I'd just leave the area they are at especially if they started throwing rocks. Yes it might upset me as well but I don't fly with an entitlement attitude even if it is legal. Locally there is a RR yard where they rebuild old railroad trains. I'd love to fly over it and get some of the different RR engines/cars being brought back to life. It's in class G airspace and no restrictions that I know of but I'd still try to ask if I could get permission from the tenants to shoot some video or pics over their facility.

 

[LowCountryFlyer]

I was standing next to railroad tracks on a public street flying over a freight train yard. I got some great video of a train coming in. I never flew directly over the train or any of the three rail workers. I realized when I reviewed the video that one of them picks up a rock and throws it at my drone. I don’t think there is anything illegal about flying over a train yard. Is destroying my drone illegal? Should be. I guess they aren’t worried about damaging their train cars. Luckily he missed but the only reason I ascended at that moment is because my battery was low.

I’ve also had people in boats cast at me twice luckily I’ve been far enough away.. this has happened while I was following a moving boat coming into the marina. I could understand if they were enjoying the peace and quiet of fishing but they weren’t.

Thoughts?

Classic lawyer response: Well it depends.

In a vacuum, yes, one could call it vandalism, because it is damage to personal property. It could also be considered an injury worthy of compensation in civil court as well.

Whether these cases wind up in your favor depends entirely upon the events which preceded it. If the person wrecked your drone due to action on your part where a reasonable person would conclude that your actions were harassing or provocative, a judge may well justify the victim’s actions and deny your lawsuit. If you were harassing a person you could face serious legal consequences as this is a felony in a few states now. There is also the case where a man shot down a drone with a shotgun because the operator was using it to spy on his daughter in her bedroom.

That being said, there is nothing illegal about operating a drone in approved public airspace and using it to take pictures with, provided you comply with all laws and regulations. If someone doesn’t like a drone simply flying nearby, too bad.

 

[808TRTLDrone]

I believe that one should keep a safe distance from people and or private property. This would be just as being respectful for people's personal space. Now if someone were to shoot down your drone if it is in a residential area that is a crime. It would be called unlawful discharge of a firearm and in a residential area. If you are just passing over the air space of their property and not at the proper altitude or operating with the proper authority. You may be in violation.When in doubt it would be a good idea to research what is proper before flying into this situation and being unpleasantly surprised. As drone owners and pilots we are going to be held to a professional responsibility level because these are not toys. They may be treated as toys but realistically if you have an FAA tail or ID number, that is not a toy. It is a registered piece of equipment. We have to abide by the laws that are to protect everyone. I'd say stay safe and away from everything. Check to make sure where the no fly zones are. It's not just airports. There may be a facility such as military facilities, prisons, State buildings.... If you fly your drone into one of those it can and will possibly be shot down. You may also be arrested for such activity. I do believe that some of the classes that are being held and will inform pilots of drones what is proper. I think it's a good thing. If they did this for people that own boats and everybody knew the rules of the road we would not have as many boating accidents as we do.

 

[Hogwallop]

I was standing next to railroad tracks on a public street flying over a freight train yard. I got some great video of a train coming in. I never flew directly over the train or any of the three rail workers. I realized when I reviewed the video that one of them picks up a rock and throws it at my drone. I don’t think there is anything illegal about flying over a train yard. Is destroying my drone illegal? Should be. I guess they aren’t worried about damaging their train cars. Luckily he missed but the only reason I ascended at that moment is because my battery was low.

I’ve also had people in boats cast at me twice luckily I’ve been far enough away.. this has happened while I was following a moving boat coming into the marina. I could understand if they were enjoying the peace and quiet of fishing but they weren’t.

Thoughts?

Nice railway siding shot!

 

[ForceMajeure]

Gord no one said it was "legal" to shoot a drone down or knock one down with sticks & stones. There are several aspects of those actions that aren't "Legal". Keep in mind that being illegal and getting a court/judge to side with you and award damages are not the same thing. That is what @tcope was referencing in his quote below:



A drone operator was flying near (not even directly over IIRC ) and the land owner shot his drone down with a shotgun. The judge did NOT follow what we feel like was the law as it's intended and more-or-less sided with the land owner.

So just because it's "Technically" illegal does NOT ensure a positive outcome for you.

Also, IIRC, most of the time the Railroad has a fairly hefty "Right Of Way" out from their actual property and in most places railways ARE considered "Sensitive Infrastructure" and you could be cited if flying too close to or over a rail-yard. I wouldn't push this issue if I were you because the odds are it won't come out in your favor.

Good luck and Safe Flights just the same

'Law' and 'Justice' are only distant cousins, and frequently fail to recognize the other when passing on the street.

 

[paulbuckley]

What would give a landowner the right to shoot down an aircraft over his property? I see nothing illegal about the OP's flight on its face.

Personally I would put it down to experience and let sleeping dogs lay.
As pointed out by others, no harm was done to your drone and confronting the authorities with it may just bring a ton of bricks down on your head.
I was once on a beach on an Indian Ocean island when a French woman started to throw stones at my drone, saying, as she confronted me in a skimpy bikini, that I was invading her privacy !
I pointed out that there was a constant stream of people with cameras walking past her, so why weren't they 'invading her privacy?.
The bottom line was I simply kept my drone out of range of her missiles.

 

[The Rolling Drones]

If you were trespassing on railroad property with an ATV, do you think it would be ok for a railroad employee to set your ATV on fire if you left on posted property (not on the tracks) to go swimming?

In the OP,s situation, there are two separate issues, 1) was the drone flying illegally and 2) what measures can an observer legally take if a drone is “Trespassing”. Speaking as a non lawyer i would say the only legal action one could take against a drone thought to be trespassing is to make a call to law enforcement and get as much Video evidence as possible.

 

[drvrbob]

Pretty sure as I stand out in a public area with my dslr and 600mm lens, I may be violating more privacy than my drone ever could......lol

 

[Frog47]

Nope not considered that and I’m not aware of that anywhere for railroads...

Why are there so many drone haters on a drone website? Lol I’m done mistake posting about it.

We aren’t drone haters, this is a drone site, if you were flying 400 ft I wouldn’t worry about anyone throwing a rock.

 

[51 Drones]

Luckily I was

It would be illegal to throw something at a manned aircraft . Should be just as illegal to mess with a UAV.

It is extremely illegal. All aircraft, manned or unmanned is protected by the Aircraft Sabotage Act. It is a federal crime to attempt to ground an aircraft in flight, whether it be a drone or a jet airliner. I will be releasing a video on this very subject on Sunday evening.

 

[Patmaherjfm]

Luckily I was

It would be illegal to throw something at a manned aircraft . Should be just as illegal to mess with a UAV.

Endangering aircraft applies.

 

[irpnetgb]

I was standing next to railroad tracks on a public street flying over a freight train yard. I got some great video of a train coming in. I never flew directly over the train or any of the three rail workers. I realized when I reviewed the video that one of them picks up a rock and throws it at my drone. I don’t think there is anything illegal about flying over a train yard. Is destroying my drone illegal? Should be. I guess they aren’t worried about damaging their train cars. Luckily he missed but the only reason I ascended at that moment is because my battery was low.

I’ve also had people in boats cast at me twice luckily I’ve been far enough away.. this has happened while I was following a moving boat coming into the marina. I could understand if they were enjoying the peace and quiet of fishing but they weren’t.

Thoughts?

Fly higher and yes, regardless of which country you fly in it will almost certainly be illegal for someone else to damage your drone without your permission. In the UK it's called Criminal Damage (as you have damaged someone elses property). A judge is hardly liekly to throw them in jail but they could get fined and have to pay compensation.

 

[Tom-Air]

Dang this is a long thread. I would say if in doubt just go ask permission and mention how much you love trains. I would bet they will allow you.

 

[dronerdave]

Ask permission and maybe tell them you'll give them some pics. I'm a low flyer when ever possible as it makes for better images most of the time. I understand why the OP targeted it. Very nice pic.