Told to stop flying!

Joined
Jul 15, 2017
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Age
24
Hey guys, I own a p3p and was flying it at my local mall, small mall, not near airports or directly over people or cars following all the rules to my knowledge. Just getting some shots for a vlog. Done this many times. But this time I was stopped by a "mall security officer" and was told to stop flying. I asked for justification and got, because we don't want drones flying here. If that's the rule then that's the rule, so be it. But can they really tell me I can't fly here even though I'm not breaking any rules?! If so I guess I was uninformed and that's my fault. Should I be able to fly here? And are malls and business allowed to say I can't?
 
Yes, Private property.
 
So same thing as national forests can't take off land or operate inside them, but you can fly from the outside? Interesting I guess I was uniformed.
 
So same thing as national forests can't take off land or operate inside them, but you can fly from the outside? Interesting I guess I was uniformed.
I believe you can do it in a national forest. Unless the state have laws against it. Also agreed with the other ones. Malls are usually private property. You can't fly or take off from it. However if you take off from far away and are only passing over. I don't think it's illegal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: trey crossen
"Mall cops" just love to push their chests out and bellow the "law". Just smile and be thankful you're not a "mall cop".....
 
"Mall cops" just love to push their chests out and bellow the "law". Just smile and be thankful you're not a "mall cop".....

Private property rights are a type of personal sovereignty. You can choose to mock those who are tasked with enforcing the desires of the owners or controlling entity but it makes you sound disrespectful.
 
What you could do is to ask the mall's management if you could film some video from your drone from their parking lot before the mall opens. They will probably say no because of the liability concerns, but you could offer to let someone from their security staff be on hand and let them view the roof of the mall. A little respect can go a long way.
 
It seems to me that alot of people are overly paranoid when it comes to drones, when they hear about drones they think all the operator wants to do is spy on people, they get a bad rap.
And then you hear the news story like we had recently about the drone that had a so called "near miss" with an airliner and the [EXPLETIVE REMOVED] really hits the fan, that was not intended to be a pun.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Given that it's private property, they can tell you to stop driving over it, walking through it, or shopping in it... so yep, flying from it can be stopped too.
 
Just because you "can" over fly their property doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Also unless the mall is closed how are you not flying over any people at all?

Remember there could be local ordinances that could come into play flying over such a public place like reckless behavior and such. Is it really worth it to be "that guy"?
 
  • Like
Reactions: FLYBOYJ
Hey guys, I own a p3p and was flying it at my local mall, small mall, not near airports or directly over people or cars following all the rules to my knowledge. Just getting some shots for a vlog. Done this many times. But this time I was stopped by a "mall security officer" and was told to stop flying. I asked for justification and got, because we don't want drones flying here. If that's the rule then that's the rule, so be it. But can they really tell me I can't fly here even though I'm not breaking any rules?! If so I guess I was uninformed and that's my fault. Should I be able to fly here? And are malls and business allowed to say I can't?
All they can say is you can't take off or land from their property. Other than that, you just have to obey the FAA rules, safety and privacy laws.
 
"Mall cops" just love to push their chests out and bellow the "law". Just smile and be thankful you're not a "mall cop".....

.That makes a lot of sense.
Guy was doing his job and protecting his employer. He has every right to tell anyone to leave for cause. If the OP had refused or made a big deal of it, he could have received a criminal trespass warning to not come back or face criminal charges. You're wrong in this instance
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigAl07
.That makes a lot of sense.
Guy was doing his job and protecting his employer. He has every right to tell anyone to leave for cause. If the OP had refused or made a big deal of it, he could have received a criminal trespass warning to not come back or face criminal charges. You're wrong in this instance
Think not. Mall cops are known for their need for power, but don't have any. They got that job because the police academy bar was too high. Criminal trespass citation issue? Prbly, but a smarter person wouldnt press it that far, just step off the property and keep flying and watch Barney Fifes eyes roll to the back of his head..
 
Think not. Mall cops are known for their need for power, but don't have any. They got that job because the police academy bar was too high. Criminal trespass citation issue? Prbly, but a smarter person wouldnt press it that far, just step off the property and keep flying and watch Barney Fifes eyes roll to the back of his head..
Well, aren't you a smug one.............At least they got a job, and an honest one.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,094
Messages
1,467,597
Members
104,980
Latest member
ozmtl