An extremely in-depth and (mostly) objective article about drone laws in the US. It's a long one so I'll log the main points here if anyone wants a summary.
Full-length article here: Is Flying a Drone Illegal? A Comprehensive Guide to America’s Drone Laws
I have not fact-checked everything here but Brendan Schulman seemed to give his thumbs-up approval. There's a decent amount of stuff in the article that I didn't know before reading, particularly that the FAA does not have any regulations that prohibit commercial drone operations. Does anyone dispute any of the things that the writer included in the article?
Full-length article here: Is Flying a Drone Illegal? A Comprehensive Guide to America’s Drone Laws
- "Few (areas of government law) are so intentionally misleading, arbitrarily enforced, or regularly misreported by the press" as much as FAA law
- Is flying a drone illegal? There's no straight answer for that right now.
- The FAA is not a reliable narrator. Just because they say something is true does not make it true. They issue "advisory circulars" and "policy statements" as part of a legitimate legal argument - this is a dirty scare tactic.
- The question of whether or not a drone is an "aircraft" is still unanswered. The infamous Raphael Pirker case touched the surface of this, but there has been no concrete follow-up in the aftermath of the case. The FAA has attempted to fine 24 pilots and every time has cited a manned aircraft regulation in all cases even though drones cannot legally be proven to be aircraft.
- Manned aircraft regulations are inherently at odds with drones. "Wreckless" flight for manned aircraft can be defined as flying below 500 ft. All drones are supposed to be flown under 400 ft. You can see how this poses a problem.
- There should be laws to prevent idiocy like the White House incident. However, retroactively fitting manned aircraft regulations gives the FAA too much freedom to abuse these regulations with respect to drones.
- The FAA is disorganized and largely decentralized. Some regional safety offices are lax about drones and some are strict - it just depends on who's working there. Almost every drone fine ever has been issued out of the Eastern region office (24 total fines)
- He describes the 333 exemption process as "a get-rich-quick scheme for shady law firms everywhere." The FAA does not have any regulations that prohibit commercial drone operations. This is why the FAA has not fined a single drone company operating without a 333. By getting a 333, you are actually subjecting yourself to enforceable rules you wouldn't otherwise have to.
- The hobby registration program the FAA implemented last year is currently going through a lawsuit because it goes against the FAA Modernization Act of 2012.
- State and local governments have no authority over airspace - period.
I have not fact-checked everything here but Brendan Schulman seemed to give his thumbs-up approval. There's a decent amount of stuff in the article that I didn't know before reading, particularly that the FAA does not have any regulations that prohibit commercial drone operations. Does anyone dispute any of the things that the writer included in the article?