USA What would you do?

[Juggernaught]

I saw a video that was done by a company in my state just recently flying in my local town for a marketing gig. Video was well done and as I was watching I was like that's shot from a UAV! Our town is completely covered by Class E Airspace and he actually flew the UAV about half mile from our regional airport approximately 200' in the air near our hospital (has a heli-pad, but wasn't active).

I couldn't believe he would fly that close. I looked up the production company and couldn't find any licenses or certifications for flying a UAV. Should I contact them about it or just let it go and move on?

Thanks

 

[The Editor]

I saw a video that was done by a company in my state just recently flying in my local town for a marketing gig. Video was well done and as I was watching I was like that's shot from a UAV! Our town is completely covered by Class E Airspace and he actually flew the UAV about half mile from our regional airport approximately 200' in the air near our hospital (has a heli-pad, but wasn't active).

I couldn't believe he would fly that close. I looked up the production company and couldn't find any licenses or certifications for flying a UAV. Should I contact them about it or just let it go and move on?

Thanks

To be honest, if I see illegal flying, I just report them now.
There are too many idiots or individuals who believe the rules just don't apply to them and I'm afraid it is only going to get worse with the introduction of the Mavic and Karma.
These will bring a new wave of lunacy probably the likes of which we have never seen before.

If you contact the company or individual directly you will probably just get a load of abuse so why stress yourself - report to the authorities and then it is in their hands.

 

[AerialZ]

To be honest, if I see illegal flying, I just report them now.
There are too many idiots or individuals who believe the rules just don't apply to them and I'm afraid it is only going to get worse with the introduction of the Mavic and Karma.
These will bring a new wave of lunacy probably the likes of which we have never seen before

I simply could not agree more. Well stated! These new 'pocket drones' in the hands of idiots are going to cause more problems than we've ever experienced in our industry. Give an ultra-portable drone with a 4 mile range to an ignorant operator and see what happens. Couple this with a VERY broken 107 airspace authorization process and you have a recipe for disaster...

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Sometimes I'll call FHP when I see someone driving erratically and in my opinion putting people in immediate Danger. What I don't do is bother contacting the law when I see somebody going 65 in a 55 Zone partially because just because it's technically illegal doesn't mean that anybody is in immediate danger or harm and partially because I wouldn't want to overburden law enforcement with tracking down frivolous infractions when their efforts should be more concentrated on serious matters and not technical illegalities that are most certainly likely not to cause harm to anyone.

Were the skies clear? Did the pilot have an unobstructed View? Did they have individual or several visual Observers? If the answer to all those questions is yes they likely posed no danger to anyone else around them and were only guilty of technical infractions no less than rolling through a stop sign or going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. You can't even get law enforcement aroused to pursue such minor infractions, so then why are you concerned? Is reporting everybody who is a moderate speeder going to stop speeding? Or going to stop people from getting killed in vehicles? The answer is no. Not telling you what to do but I would keep my powder dry for those instances that pose obvious Danger.

 

[slim.slamma]

If you operate a drone commercially apparently it pays to be a fool. Knowledge is suffering
Singing the blues by Guy Mitchell

 

[AeroMirage]

Report the muthus.......
I wonder how many 'flyaways' will be coming along with the new pocket rockets.
Gee' it flew away...... Translation: You flew it too far and crashed it because it was out of LOS.

 

[slim.slamma]

The Mavic is going to be Intresting

Sometimes I'll call FHP when I see someone driving erratically and in my opinion putting people in immediate Danger. What I don't do is bother contacting the law when I see somebody going 65 in a 55 Zone partially because just because it's technically illegal doesn't mean that anybody is in immediate danger or harm and partially because I wouldn't want to overburden law enforcement with tracking down frivolous infractions when their efforts should be more concentrated on serious matters and not technical illegalities that are most certainly likely not to cause harm to anyone.

Were the skies clear? Did the pilot have an unobstructed View? Did they have individual or several visual Observers? If the answer to all those questions is yes they likely posed no danger to anyone else around them and were only guilty of technical infractions no less than rolling through a stop sign or going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. You can't even get law enforcement aroused to pursue such minor infractions, so then why are you concerned? Is reporting everybody who is a moderate speeder going to stop speeding? Or going to stop people from getting killed in vehicles? The answer is no. Not telling you what to do but I would keep my powder dry for those instances that pose obvious Danger.

I hate people that only do 55 & b line for the far left lane. Control freaks, no matter what the hobby.

 

[slim.slamma]

The Mavic is going to be Intresting

I'm amazed by people that only do 55 & b line for the far left lane. Control freaks, no matter what the hobby.

 

[DesertWindAero]

Bring them down...so to speak ;-)

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

The Mavic is going to be Intresting

I hate people that only do 55 & b line for the far left lane. Control freaks, no matter what the hobby.

Most of these types of posts remind me of the time I was driving I-75 south around the Tennessee Georgia border. Something up ahead had traffic congested and it was in the passing lane. When it came my turn to go around, I looked over to see this poindexter doing exactly the speed limit with the most smug, sanctimonious look on his face, satisfied that he had the interstate backed up for miles to prove a point. I wouldn't necessarily equate what he did with reporting someone else (okay, maybe) but I can still see his expression clearly after what has to be about 15 years or so, and can tell some of these guys, (not necessarily the OP) are wearing it also when they type their posts.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

I want to amend my earlier statement.

I'm not opposed to reporting someone who is not licensed for doing commercial drone work, in fact it should be a responsibility of those who are.

My beef is with reporting the slightest "letter-of-the-law" infractions that pose no real risk to others. Someone without a driver's license should not be behind the wheel on public roads.

 

[lake_flyer]

I wouldn't report a hobbyist who is flying a little bit outside the boundaries. I would walk up to him and explain what he is doing wrong. Or if I stumble upon a Youtube clip, which very clearly was shot while breaking the rules, I normally just leave a comment. Often he/she didn't realise it was illegal and takes the video down. If I see a company logo however, and it is obviously used as a commercial video, trying to make a buck where I can't (because I have to follow the rules no matter how bizarre some are), after spending a fortune in time and money to become commercial, I probably will report.

 

[Jon L 13]

How do we know this particular individual broke the law? Did you contact the airport and ask if there was an agreement in place?

---------
**I understand that this particular instance was commercial, not hobby, just writing what is following as highlighting the general mood.**
A lot of people were assuming that there were hobbyists out there breaking the law before the hobbyist rules were even adopted by the FAA. Even now, people scream "illegal" when people operate craft not on an AMA field, because they somehow think that is what Part 101 calls for.
--------

There are a lot of circumstantial factors that need to be accounted for during every operation. Just because something isn't in strict compliance with Part 107/101 (from your interpretation), doesn't mean it's illegal. Just look at the FAA summation of 107 - the closing line tells us that just about everything is waiverable. How do we know that the person in this situation didn't have a waiver? Did you ask?

For any company to become reputable and last in the long term (and gain a competitive edge against your firm), they will have to comply with the law. These one-off guys breaking the law are either so small scale that they are no impact to you or will eventually find themselves in hot water.

@Pescatoral Pursuit makes a great analogy with speeding on the highway. Most people do not take it upon themselves to report law-breakers (unless they are being robbed or something). When is the last time you called the cops on a person who has their windows tinted too darkly? On a person under 21 consuming alcohol? On a person smoking weed?

*What is it about RC craft that has people so vigilant?
*Philosophical question.

 

[licensed pilot]

To be honest, if I see illegal flying, I just report them now.
There are too many idiots or individuals who believe the rules just don't apply to them and I'm afraid it is only going to get worse with the introduction of the Mavic and Karma.
These will bring a new wave of lunacy probably the likes of which we have never seen before.

If you contact the company or individual directly you will probably just get a load of abuse so why stress yourself - report to the authorities and then it is in their hands.

REPORT, REPORT, REPORT. and then put it out of your mind and get back to promoting your business. If everyone adopts a position that it it pointless to report, then the problem just gets worse.