Man arrested for flying drone over deadly Mansfield ATV crash

[sar104]

I generally try to read rather than respond to forum comments and I personally respect anything you write. You are probably the most valuable member of the forum.

Perhaps I was a little strong to say he violated the law. However, laws give the authorization and direction to the FAA to issue regulations and guidelines for the national airspace that have the authority of law.

My point continues to be we are our own worst enemy. The press and politicians will continue to use isolated instances of questionable behavior of a few individuals against all of us. It’s great to declare one has a right to the air above your property even if it’s in a NFZ. Or that the system should be somehow be modified to accommodate you. Hopefully, implementation of LAANC will provide some relief to those who wat to fly in parts of NFZs. But, unless we do a better job self policing to the existing rules and guidelines we (In the USA at least) will continue to have more and more restrictions put on our hobby. We’re not guns. Our Constitution will not protect us.

And again SAR104, thanks for all the great work you do for this forum.

I maybe should have elaborated further - I was not defending the pilot in this case and I don't disagree with the advice - I just think that it's important to understand these distinctions.

 

[drvrbob]

Id like to think most decent human beings arent interested in photographing people who are dead, injured, distressed, in pain or anything else just for their own sick personal amusement.
Why would you do it? What are you going to do with those images? Whats the point?

Its not official journalism, theres no merit at all in doing it. No public interest in unofficial people taking gory snapshots to show off to their friends.



But they are used and can be used. And can be cancelled if one of the emergency services on scene spots the drone as it'll be deemed too risky to approach the area and this HAS happened in various places.
The moron with the drone has NO idea what assets have been called for, are needed or are on the way so has no way of knowing if hes interfering or not. So again, a sensible, thinking human being, knowing he has no legitimate need to be there (personal curiosity is not a good reason) would get away from there and not hang around.



I'd argue the opposite. Time the drone community grew up, matured and started self policing. Stop people causing distress, annoyance and interference to other members of the public and try to fix the terrible image that currently exists.

What's the difference between someone taking pictures with your drone of a crash scene that they may possibly sell to a news agency that's not on scene versus the news agency flying their helicopter over the same taking pictures to me it's the same thing. You can edit out, blur images but Land rhe minute an aircraft is seen or heard in the area or if instructed by law enforcement. It is a 1st amendment issue as I see it.

 

[drvrbob]

The below info was cut, copied and pasted from THIS FAA web page. It appears to address the question at hand - if it was a legitimate arrest

Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations
You are considered a recreational user if you fly your drone for fun. It is important to know when and where you can fly and how to register your drone.

New Changes to Recreational Drone Flying in the United States
There's a new law (PDF) that describes how, when, and where you can fly drones for recreational purposes. Following these rules will keep you and your drone safe and will help keep the airspace available to everyone.

10. Never fly near emergencies such as any type of accident response, law enforcement activities, firefighting, or hurricane recovery efforts.

Define near?

 

[gnirtS]

Is he a journalist? No
Is it his job? No
Is he just taking photos to try to make money or an ego boost out of someone elses unfortunate situation? yes.

Morally the guy is bankrupt. Mentally too it seems.

 

[Mavic Mac]

Unfortunately, it is blood, guts and crashes that people want to see. Just do a quick YouTube video search for crashes and look at the number of views the videos get. Or just be in traffic when there is a wreck and see how many people “slow down to get a better look”. A lot of people watch car racing, not to see who wins but to watch the crashes. There is a morbid attraction to these types of incidents. So now instead of having to figure how they can get close for a good view they just fly their drone to view it.

 

[sar104]

What's the difference between someone taking pictures with your drone of a crash scene that they may possibly sell to a news agency that's not on scene versus the news agency flying their helicopter over the same taking pictures to me it's the same thing. You can edit out, blur images but Land rhe minute an aircraft is seen or heard in the area or if instructed by law enforcement. It is a 1st amendment issue as I see it.

Press freedom is protected by the First Amendment. Amateur reporting is not explicitly protected. Flying a drone is definitely not protected.

 

[Drgnfli]

Looks as if Ohio is a hotbed for droning news lately, most of it negative....

Man arrested for flying drone over deadly Mansfield ATV crash

This went down about 65 miles from where I live.

Larry

Typical - GUILTY until proven innocent ! (maybe flying too low?)

 

[Drgnfli]

Id like to think most decent human beings arent interested in photographing people who are dead, injured, distressed, in pain or anything else just for their own sick personal amusement.
Why would you do it? What are you going to do with those images? Whats the point?

Its not official journalism, theres no merit at all in doing it. No public interest in unofficial people taking gory snapshots to show off to their friends.



But they are used and can be used. And can be cancelled if one of the emergency services on scene spots the drone as it'll be deemed too risky to approach the area and this HAS happened in various places.
The moron with the drone has NO idea what assets have been called for, are needed or are on the way so has no way of knowing if hes interfering or not. So again, a sensible, thinking human being, knowing he has no legitimate need to be there (personal curiosity is not a good reason) would get away from there and not hang around.



I'd argue the opposite. Time the drone community grew up, matured and started self policing. Stop people causing distress, annoyance and interference to other members of the public and try to fix the terrible image that currently exists.

How do you know he was photographing anything? He may have just wanted a closer view - he probably didn't know there were deaths at the scene, just getting a better view. Now the guy has been arrested - for what? Sounds like most of the folks here just want to "hang" the guy on a little bit on evidence. Wow! Glad no one knows how to make a hangman's noose... ROFLMAO!... ???

 

[deleted member 877]

]

How do you know he was photographing anything? He may have just wanted a closer view - he probably didn't know there were deaths at the scene, just getting a better view. Now the guy has been arrested - for what? Sounds like most of the folks here just want to "hang" the guy on a little bit on evidence. Wow! Glad no one knows how to make a hangman's noose... ROFLMAO!... ???

Don't know why the "photographic" aspect was even mentioned - it's not about that at all. The guy should not have been operating his drone in close proximity to the crash as reported. He had no business wanting "to get a better view" if that is what he was doing.

If it turns out that the guy is innocent then great. Why don't we wait for the results of the court case to come in? I'll bet anyone real money that he will be found guilty and punished accordingly - and be happy to pay out if I'm wrong.

 

[Smokieflies]

Also we are not suppose to fly over emergency area's either. This clearly was what he was doing. Given him the benefit of doubt, and he was flying before he saw the accident, he should have brought his drone in once he saw first responders getting to the scene.

 

[kensteele]

in america, the constitution will prevail...it always does. nobody will be able to stop progress although for drone, it will be a little slower than perhaps the others.