UK Drone pilot gets $1,900 fine

mavic3usa · Aug 30, 2023

I'm not a fan of a couple of the FAA rules when it comes to zero tolerance enforcement but overall the rules are fair and manageable as long as they are not strictly enforced. My opinion. However, I am shocked with this one. I cannot believe how lenient the punishment is because if this is me, here in the US, I'm sure it wouldn't be the same.

Again, for me, true ignorance of the law is no excuse especially when it comes to safety but I've always been a fan of leniency if no one actually got hurt or property was not damaged or nothing ended up compromised, less than 250g. I would vote for cutting the fine in half or probation instead of jail time, when it's not done on purpose for example. Plead guilty or no contest, lessons learned. But if harm comes, sucks to be you; big fines. That's my thoughts. But this guy, this takes to cake. I don't know about you but this sends the wrong message, me thinks:

Drone pilot gets $1,900 fine for 'complete disregard' for the rules

A 36-year-old drone pilot has been fined nearly £1,500 ($1,900) by a court in the UK for recklessly flying a DJI Mavic 2 near an airport.

dronedj.com

landmark orbiter · Aug 30, 2023

Okay that is a complete disregard for any of the guidelines. Beyond VLOS and at 1640 feet and over a crowd and near an airport

landmark orbiter · Aug 30, 2023

And yes the fine is very lenient IMO.

spsphotos · Aug 31, 2023

"The court also ordered his drone and mobile phone to be destroyed."

That's different. Can they actually do that? Why not just confiscate the drone? What does his phone have to do with it?

BigAl07 · Aug 31, 2023

I'd say his phone was "Sentenced" because he used it in the incident as his viewing device.

Personally, I think the courts handled it VERY well and I sincerely hope that, sooner than later, a US Court/Law Enforcement will do the same thing and make a WELL publicized example out of a UAS Operator on this side of the pond. 100% the sooner the better !!

Case in point:

Drone Delays DHART Helicopter Taking Off With Seriously Injured Woman

I was saddened to see this happen in my home state of NH. The police have the information on the drone operator. Hopefully the FAA will receive a copy of it and take action. The drone operator clearly opened themselves up for huge civil labilities, for their actions...

mavicpilots.com

RoosArt · Aug 31, 2023

It is necessary to make these type of convictions known to the whole drone community to stop idiots like this giving drones a bad name. The fact that the fine was pretty steep and the equipment confiscated to be destroyed may cause people to think again before undertaking such a venture.

mavic3usa · Aug 31, 2023

RoosArt said:
It is necessary to make these type of convictions known to the whole drone community to stop idiots like this giving drones a bad name. The fact that the fine was pretty steep and the equipment confiscated to be destroyed may cause people to think again before undertaking such a venture.

Less than $2k fine won't deter anyone for all those violations.

thispilothere · Aug 31, 2023

Seems a bit steep for a first offense. And destroying his phone is crazy. Was he at least allowed to back it up?

It's a lower punishment for first offense drinking or texting while driving - which puts lives at risk in a far more serious and immediate way than flying a drone over people a mile from an airport. And they don't destroy your car or phone.

EricJT · Aug 31, 2023

thispilothere said:
Seems a bit steep for a first offense. And destroying his phone is crazy. Was he at least allowed to back it up?

It's a lower punishment for first offense drinking or texting while driving - which puts lives at risk in a far more serious and immediate way than flying a drone over people a mile from an airport. And they don't destroy your car or phone.

Perhaps then the punishments for "drinking or texting while driving" needs to be increased? There are many deaths on our roadways due to inconsiderate, self-centered behaviour. JM2C.

twickers14 · Aug 31, 2023

Although not displaying his registration number was one of the cited offences, it doesn’t say whether he was actually registered (nor insured?).

rjwmorrell · Aug 31, 2023

EricJT said:
Perhaps then the punishments for "drinking or texting while driving" needs to be increased? There are many deaths on our roadways due to inconsiderate, self-centered behaviour. JM2C.

Texting and driving- without drinking- is 6 demerit points and a $3,000 fine here in Ontario, Canada. I'd say that's starting to get steep.

mavic3usa · Aug 31, 2023

rjwmorrell said:
Texting and driving- without drinking- is 6 demerit points and a $3,000 fine here in Ontario, Canada. I'd say that's starting to get steep.

Yeah that's pretty steep especially if no one is in danger or no one got hurt. You could be sitting at a stop light, you get a text saying "Where are you?" and you pick up your phone and reply back with "On the way" and a cop right next to you.

Contrast that with the last holdouts in America where the fines don't go into effect until 2025 and even then, it will probably be something like $25: Only one state doesn’t have a ban on texting and driving; here’s why

My point is the fine structure is all over the board and inconsistent when compared. I still believe $1,900 is not high enough for all those drone violations and it will not deter anyone from doing just one or two of the illegal acts which would cost less fine and that's *if* you get caught.

Torque · Aug 31, 2023

mavic3usa said:
Yeah that's pretty steep especially if no one is in danger or no one got hurt. You could be sitting at a stop light, you get a text saying "Where are you?" and you pick up your phone and reply back with "On the way" and a cop right next to you.

Contrast that with the last holdouts in America where the fines don't go into effect until 2025 and even then, it will probably be something like $25: Only one state doesn’t have a ban on texting and driving; here’s why

My point is the fine structure is all over the board and inconsistent when compared. I still believe $1,900 is not high enough for all those drone violations and it will not deter anyone from doing just one or two of the illegal acts which would cost less fine and that's *if* you get caught.

I guess if you have deep pockets, $1,900 is nothing.
I make a comfortable living, but a couple of $100 driving citations were enough to change my driving habits.

mavic3usa · Aug 31, 2023

Torque said:
I guess if you have deep pockets, $1,900 is nothing.
I make a comfortable living, but a couple of $100 driving citations were enough to change my driving habits.

I was comparing it to jail or what I often see published with the FAA: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may assess civil penalties of up to $27,500 for failing to register a drone. Criminal penalties include fines of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment for up to three years.

Wonder what exactly does it take to net those sort of fines?

Mazdaman323lx · Aug 31, 2023

mavic3usa said:
I'm not a fan of a couple of the FAA rules when it comes to zero tolerance enforcement but overall the rules are fair and manageable as long as they are not strictly enforced. My opinion. However, I am shocked with this one. I cannot believe how lenient the punishment is because if this is me, here in the US, I'm sure it wouldn't be the same.

Again, for me, true ignorance of the law is no excuse especially when it comes to safety but I've always been a fan of leniency if no one actually got hurt or property was not damaged or nothing ended up compromised, less than 250g. I would vote for cutting the fine in half or probation instead of jail time, when it's not done on purpose for example. Plead guilty or no contest, lessons learned. But if harm comes, sucks to be you; big fines. That's my thoughts. But this guy, this takes to cake. I don't know about you but this sends the wrong message, me thinks:

Drone pilot gets $1,900 fine for 'complete disregard' for the rules

A 36-year-old drone pilot has been fined nearly £1,500 ($1,900) by a court in the UK for recklessly flying a DJI Mavic 2 near an airport.

dronedj.com

I just had a request to unpload my flight logs , license , drone serial number etc for a flight with my mini pro near a neighborhood where a Karen who reported me lives. It wasn't a restricted area but I'm getting the third degree .
Just because you don't crash doesn't mean you can fly as you like.

mavic3usa · Aug 31, 2023

Mazdaman323lx said:
I just had a request to unpload my flight logs , license , drone serial number etc for a flight with my mini pro near a neighborhood where a Karen who reported me lives. It wasn't a restricted area but I'm getting the third degree .
Just because you don't crash doesn't mean you can fly as you like.

Nobody can fly as they like. Even in America where you are free, you aren't that free. The fines should be partially based on the the results meaning causing damage and pain should receive a higher punishment that not. Unless the request came from the FAA, a request for your personal details would be answered with a "No thank you" reply from me.

rjwmorrell · Aug 31, 2023

mavic3usa said:
Nobody can fly as they like. Even in America where you are free, you aren't that free. The fines should be partially based on the the results meaning causing damage and pain should receive a higher punishment that not. Unless the request came from the FAA, a request for your personal details would be answered with a "No thank you" reply from me.

It came from the Irish equivalent where that person is based. For the purposes of the discussion its as if you got the request from the FAA.

mavic3usa · Aug 31, 2023

rjwmorrell said:
It came from the Irish equivalent where that person is based. For the purposes of the discussion its as if you got the request from the FAA.

Then it's probably best to comply since they are more likely to work with you on correction and education should they discover any sort of mishaps. Certainly if you haven't done anything wrong, it's best to cooperate with the government regulatory agencies but it probably sucks that someone reported you. We get that here sometimes too.