Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
I recently saw a video of a youngest person who was doing what he claimed to be high altitude flying with drones. Altitude achieved was over 3.000'. He knew he was in violation of rules but claimed he was not anywhere near an airport or flight paths. Guess that made it OK in his mind. Problem was he was unable to descend and lost control of the aircraft. Crash location was never determined but the area was populated with homes so someone could have been hit and injured.
I feel there needs to be a new class of laws for people who illegally operate drones or other remotely piloted aircraft with the potential of hefty fines and/or jail time.
Not to stay into OMNI territory, but perhaps there's something about the technology that would enable LE to take over the drone. I've seen suggestions for a kill-switch that LE could activate remotely, but the problem with that is where the drone comes down. It might not be on a vacant runway.
Penalties are all well and good, but I don't think they are a sufficient deterrent.