new pilot with legal questions

[white lightning]

If I wanted to film in a public area to make a video of the streets of phoenix would it be legal to fly with pedestrians nearby?

 

[@Rip]

You are almost asking a hypothetical question. Especially to ascertain the legality of such a proposed flight.
Public area - OVER PEOPLE ?
No where near enough information.
Are you licensed?
Recreational flight?
Hmmm...

 

[michaeldallen1]

It's been pounded into my head throughout my Part 107 course that you cannot fly over people. Certified or not. If you are NOT directly overhead, and you have a malfunction and it drifts over to the the people and someone gets hit, you will be charged for flying recklessly. So you really want to plan on any 'malfunction' and consider what the drone will do. Also, just as @Rip questioned above, are you licensed? (Part 107 certificate). I'll bet you this would not be considered a recreational flight. Remembering that getting paid has nothing to do with it. Recreational means you are just having fun flying around, obeying the rules / guidelines. The big question is... when you left your house with the drone WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT. If you intended to go to a public area, with the intent to get footage to 'Make a Video' of the streets of Phoenix, with intent to upload / post it,....I would say you crossed the line of recreational. Even flying over your neighbor's yard to check the rain gutters on their house for them is not recreational. The intend of that flight was to do exterior house inspection. Sounds nit picky, but them's the rules. Counter point.... who's gonna' know? Probably no one. But my instructor also pounded into my head..."Don't be THAT guy". Also... no flying over moving vehicles. (You CAN, however, wait for traffic to subside and scoot across the street.) I'm interested in hearing from others on this.

 

[mavic3usa]

It's been pounded into my head throughout my Part 107 course that you cannot fly over people. Certified or not. If you are NOT directly overhead, and you have a malfunction and it drifts over to the the people and someone gets hit, you will be charged for flying recklessly. So you really want to plan on any 'malfunction' and consider what the drone will do. Also, just as @Rip questioned above, are you licensed? (Part 107 certificate). I'll bet you this would not be considered a recreational flight. Remembering that getting paid has nothing to do with it. Recreational means you are just having fun flying around, obeying the rules / guidelines. The big question is... when you left your house with the drone WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT. If you intended to go to a public area, with the intent to get footage to 'Make a Video' of the streets of Phoenix, with intent to upload / post it,....I would say you crossed the line of recreational. Even flying over your neighbor's yard to check the rain gutters on their house for them is not recreational. The intend of that flight was to do exterior house inspection. Sounds nit picky, but them's the rules. Counter point.... who's gonna' know? Probably no one. But my instructor also pounded into my head..."Don't be THAT guy". Also... no flying over moving vehicles. (You CAN, however, wait for traffic to subside and scoot across the street.) I'm interested in hearing from others on this.

I'm going to give a different opinion so the OP should be reminded this is not legal advice. Flying a drone over the streets of Phoenix that happen to have pedestrians on the sidewalks, people in the alley, residents in their backyard, and people in their cars on the street is perfectly legal and perfectly fine if you just want to record a video of the public in their natural setting going about their day. Just don't hover too long and/or too low directly over crowds of people and you should be fine. For example, if you want to make a video of the cross-streets of Camelback and Scottsdale Rd, maybe fly higher than 150 feet to clear the buildings and orbit to keep moving instead of lingering over the businesses where people are shopping. Just get your LAANC in other places where you need it.

 

[@Rip]

The FAA does not say it is absolutely illegal to fly over people. Rules have changed to a degree as with night flying, etc.
However there are several hoops one must jump through and requirements to follow to do so.

Here is the link. https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/operations_over_people .

I think OP is at least asking for guidance to determine the legality of operations that may be over some individuals.

*Depending on the circumstances, equipment used and precautions taken (within FAA established rules) such a flight as OP vaguely implied MAY be legal. (disclaimer). I recommend drone insurance in addition to the info provided above.

 

[JDubyaM]

Much of downtown Phoenix is Class Bravo airspace, so there's that. A 107 license and a waiver would be a minimum, but depending on the location, it wouldn't even be worth the effort as it most likely wouldn't be approved.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Yes, you can fly in a Public area and if you use the Zoom Properly can achieve and record a very nice effect all the while keeping it legal and safe. This is where having a really nice clean zoom such as the Mavic 3 Pro or Mavic 2 Zoom really shines.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water .

 

[finity]

with intent to upload / post it

I don't think that would be considered non-recreational.

Just taking videos and posting them to your social media page or showing them to your family in the livingroom what great video you took is not going to make it suddenly commercial.

But if the intent was to take the same video and anticipating to knowingly post it to a site that is monetized just so you can get paid for it or to promote some business even without getting paid is a completely different thing.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I will offer a different point of view.
Irrespective of whether or not it's legal I would not fly in a town with pedestrians and moving vehicles near or underneath.
Why? Because of the "what happens if" worries.

If it comes down and damages property, or worse, injures someone, could you afford the compensation and possible law suit?

 

[Laborous]

Welcome to the forum from the beautiful woods of Maine!

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

Welcome to the MavicPilots forum. Enjoy safe and happy flying!

 

[Cafguy]

I fly drones thru streets no problem Keep it under the 250 weight limit ( A small cinewhoop) and don't fly directly over people also don't harass or annoy anyone remember keep it safe and be a good representative of our "Hobby"

 

[white lightning]

I am licensed 107 but I feel that the knowledge I retained isn't really sufficient to be comfortable making legal decisions for a business that I'm a part of. So we're going on a trip to test some new equipment and I wanted to know is it like a big time no no to fly over people and if I made a video I could get prosecuted or is it more am I willing to accept the risk of whatever incident could occur by making this flight?

and then as far as parks and land, which state/regional/national etc. parks are flyable/not?

 

[Cafguy]

YES For anything over 250 grams it is a big time no no to fly over people and occupied vehicles DO NOT do it.!! You can fly somewhat near depending on the drone you use but its never a good idea to fly directly at, or over someone. The drone I fly around the streets is a tiny 2.5 inch cinewhoop with 1s batteries in it. Also: No national parks can be flown, and state and local depends on the state or local laws of those parks. I fly at my local parks with no problem. As for maybe accepting a risk I would tell you that fines from the F.A.A. can really hurt the wallet! and they do monitor youtube videos. Plus if you do injure someone you are looking at a lawsuit you will lose and some jail time for endangering the public from the local authorities.

 

[finity]

For anything over 250 grams it is a big time no no to fly over people and occupied vehicles

I'm pretty certain that the weight of the drone is not the only consideration whether it's legal to fly over people/moving vehicles.

it all depends on the category that the drone falls into.

And yes the category is related to weight but that's not the only consideration. It also has to do with the prop protection being in place while still being in the required weight class at take-off.

Right now there are very few drones that fall into category 1 that makes OOP/OOMV legal.

so whether it's less than or greater than 250 grams is not the deciding factor because the rules also allow drones over 250g to fly over people too as long as the other requirements of the category are met.

unless it's designated as a category 1 thru 4 you can't fly over people.

 

[mavic3usa]

I'm pretty certain that the weight of the drone is not the only consideration whether it's legal to fly over people/moving vehicles.

it all depends on the category that the drone falls into.

And yes the category is related to weight but that's not the only consideration. It also has to do with the prop protection being in place while still being in the required weight class at take-off.

Right now there are very few drones that fall into category 1 that makes OOP/OOMV legal.

so whether it's less than or greater than 250 grams is not the deciding factor because the rules also allow drones over 250g to fly over people too as long as the other requirements of the category are met.

unless it's designated as a category 1 thru 4 you can't fly over people.

Those are part 107 rules, does not apply to recreational pilots.

 

[finity]

Those are part 107 rules, does not apply to recreational pilots.

Assuming that is true then the recreational pilot still needs to abide by the rules of a CBO.

And as far as I know there are no CBO's that allow for flights over people or vehicles. regardless of the weight. So no recreational flyer is legal to fly over people regardless of drone weight.

So my statement still stands...

weight alone has no bearing on whether it's legal to fly over people.

 

[mavic3usa]

Assuming that is true then the recreational pilot still needs to abide by the rules of a CBO.

And as far as I know there are no CBO's that allow for flights over people or vehicles. regardless of the weight. So no recreational flyer is legal to fly over people regardless of drone weight.

So my statement still stands...

weight alone has no bearing on whether it's legal to fly over people.

"weight alone has no bearing on whether it's legal to fly over people."

agreed this is a true statement.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

If I wanted to film in a public area to make a video of the streets of phoenix would it be legal to fly with pedestrians nearby?

Keep in mind Phoenix has a large airport in the central-south town area. Be sure to check the B4UFLY app or other to be sure you are not in controlled airspace. This would apply for both recreational and commercial use.

 

[mavic3usa]

I found this from FAA

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.ecfr.gov

Same details from link in post #5.