Yesterday I received a message on Facebook from someone claiming to be from the FAA. Looking at his profile it seems legit and he actually wants me to call him at his office. He says my videos concern him and there is an allegation of me flying commercially which I have not done. He wants my name and my FAA registration number and to discuss this. I don't mind discussing this with him but I do not feel comfortable just giving him my information especially when I have not done anything wrong. I have no idea what could be concerning in my videos either. Should I call the guy or does this sound like something I should avoid? It seems like a strange way for the FAA to conduct business in my opinion. But I guess he doesn't know who I am so this is the only way they can contact me.
Contacted by FAA !
- Thread starter DroneGuy2016
- Start date
N017RW
Premium Pilot
Well I definitely know it's legit as I have looked up the guys name and he does work for the FAA. However, from a legal standpoint, do I have to tell him anything? I definitely want to discuss this with him but I don't feel the need to give him my name or registration number.
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N017RW
Premium Pilot
Can't give legal advice. None of the previous cases reported any consequences. Just a warning sort-of-speak.
Just you reporting this here has achieved their goal of spreading awareness and responsible flying.
Just you reporting this here has achieved their goal of spreading awareness and responsible flying.
Lord Above....... is this BIG Brother or what, glad I live in the UK, on this count....
Waylander
After reading the forums on here I see this exact same guy has contacted at least one other person on here.
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You're in luck... the FAA has mandated that their "system" is designed around Education first and foremost. In 2015 they rolled out their "Compliance Philosophy" which states this clearly in writing.
FAA Compliance Policy 2015
It's up to you how you go forward but I'd contact them and be cordial and courteous. Others will suggest you contact an Aviation Attorney and I'm not saying that's bad advice but that's not how I would handle it at this juncture.
For what it's worth I've got some very good friends with the FAA in the UAS division and they are just like us and very level headed.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Allen
FAA Compliance Policy 2015
It's up to you how you go forward but I'd contact them and be cordial and courteous. Others will suggest you contact an Aviation Attorney and I'm not saying that's bad advice but that's not how I would handle it at this juncture.
For what it's worth I've got some very good friends with the FAA in the UAS division and they are just like us and very level headed.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Allen
alokbhargava
Premium Pilot
Person may be legit but this is not the way to contact people on forums. If he is legit, he should express his concern on forum and you can correct the situation. No one is breaking the rules intentionally. We should definitely know the issues collectively. My two cents
I am not sure if you should pass your information to a stranger.
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I am not sure if you should pass your information to a stranger.
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I just spoke with the FAA. There were two or three guys on the phone and they were all pretty cool about it actually. It turns out I posted some videos flying near the Blue Ridge Parkway which is off-limits and I was not aware of that. Somebody got mad and reported me because I was not playing by the rules but I honestly did not even know the entire blue ridge parkway was off-limits.
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I doubt anyone would be under any obligation to abide by a "random" FB post. I can see if the FAA just wants to chat that they would leave a post. But I don't see any legal obligation to respond. Seem like they just wanted to appease the person complaining. But also keep in mind that some FAA employees were sending threatening letters which they should not have been doing.
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Forgot to mention that they want to send me some educational letter so they can close the case out.
They want to EDUCATE long before they enforce. It's so much easier to send you a letter/packet and call it a day. But rest assured that you're now on their radar so further infractions (intentional or not) might get a more stern approach in the future. It's pertinent that ANY sUAS operator understand airspace and where you can/can't fly.
Actually I'm not on their radar because they have no clue who I am. They do not know my name or my phone number or my registration number. I have taken down my Facebook page and will also be taking down the YouTube page. I just wanted to post some cool videos for my family and friends to see. But the interesting thing here is that they said I was not breaking any FAA rules, I was breaking the national parks rules is how I understood it. It amazes me that we can drive our cars, walk all over the ground and everything else in national parks and nothing is said but if you fly a remote control helicopter there it's a problem. The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles and goes through several areas where people live and small towns. So I really don't see how the entire Parkway is regulated as a national Park. I could literally exit off of the Parkway and be on a separate highway 5 feet away and that would be legal to fly there? I have never one time seen a sign anywhere on the parkway about flying drones nor do I see anything about national parks on most of it.
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It's up to the individual operator to understand where you are flying and the regulations.
Also as a side note it's very well documented, discussed, and beat to death that any NPS land is off limits.
Here's a quick Google search that has many links but the most important one would be:
Google Search
NPS Drone Use Policy (June 2014)
I find it almost comical that a policy that was put into place before many of the current flock of operators even started flying is still such an "illusive" creature to many.
At the end of the day the full responsibility for knowing when/where/how to fly falls squarely on the shoulders of the operator. Right or wrong it's up to use to know these things before we take flight.
Also as a side note it's very well documented, discussed, and beat to death that any NPS land is off limits.
Here's a quick Google search that has many links but the most important one would be:
Google Search
NPS Drone Use Policy (June 2014)
I find it almost comical that a policy that was put into place before many of the current flock of operators even started flying is still such an "illusive" creature to many.
At the end of the day the full responsibility for knowing when/where/how to fly falls squarely on the shoulders of the operator. Right or wrong it's up to use to know these things before we take flight.
I would not be so quick to dismiss what they know about you. I assume they know your name since you've spoken with them and I also assume they at least know of "a" phone number since you talked on the phone with them. It doesn't take a lot of detective work these days to put together a bigger puzzle of an individual.
Also did you not give them a mailing address to "send you the education letter"?
Don't forget we're talking about BIG Brother here and they know much more than we think or want them to know LOL!
I blocked my number when I called them and I never gave them my name. They only know of the YouTube page and Facebook page name which is nothing more than I made up business name. I did not give them an address either so like I said they have no clue who I am.
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Also remember that it's not illegal to fly over the park. Even the FAA told me that. You just cannot take off or land within the park. So as far as knowing exactly where is legal and where isn't legal isn't that easy to know. We are talking about thousands upon thousands of square miles of forests and it's not like you can just always know if you're in the park or outside the park when it comes to something this huge. There are tons of houses all along the parkway where people live. So I guess these people can't fly a drone in their own yard either because it's within the park.
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You said Blue Ridge Parkway. That's pretty well defined. You can fly OVER the BRP but flying from it is pretty much not allowed.
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