Mischievous Drones Making The Headlines Again

Drones have been in the news quite a lot lately – and whereas before these were mostly beautiful landscape shots and new Amazon opportunities, these days the small flying gadgets seem to be the cause for trouble.

They are in the way of firefighters, they scare pilots, they disrupt people’s everyday life…The misfits seem to be asking for tougher regulations to be put in place and they may be getting them soon. Here’s a roundup of just a few recent incidents.

Messing with the forces

On July 30^th, California was swept with wildfires. 7,000 of the nation’s finest responded promptly, but soon had to ground their planes, as several drones took to the sky.

A $75, 000 reward has been announced by the State to catch the meddling drone pilots – even though there may be a large pool of local residents willing to volunteer for the headhunting. 

Read the full story here.

Upsetting airlines

On August 2^nd, two airplanes preparing for landing at JFK reported drone sightings at different times: JetBlue Flight 1843 at 2.24 PM and Delta Flight 407 at 5 PM. Neither airplane had to take evasive action, but the matter is currently being investigated by the FAA.

The incident caused a lot of debate regarding just how big of a threat the small devices posed to commercial jets. According to the current regulation, drones are not supposed to fly within 5 miles of an airport or rise above 400 feet. However, the airplanes reported seeing the drones at an altitude of 800-900 Ft.

Read the full story here.

Angrying home owners

One incident ended in a drone fatality in Bullitt County, Kentucky. As David Boggs was flung his drone at 250 feet, it was shot down by the local resident, William Meredith, who presumed the device to be “hovering” over his property.

The police were called, and Mr. Meredith was arrested for criminal mischief with the court date set for September.

Mr. Boggs, the drone pilot, assures that he was just having fun with friends and family, trying out the new gadget and it was not in his intent to spy on the neighbourhood.

Read the full story here.

Influencing legislation around the globe

All the drones we have been seeing in the sky, has not gone unnoticed. Governments have been keeping a close eye on the misbehaving gadgets, which prompted quite an array of legal restrictions being formalized all across the globe.

Japan has banned drones from all the 81 public parks in Tokyo, following a recent incident of a drone carrying radioactive material landing on the roof of an official residence.

Read the full story here.

The City of Richmond, B.C, went as far as banning drones from all its parks and school grounds. While in Oklahoma, there is an actual bill allowing home owners to shoot down drones flying over their land. Whether the bill will actually be passed or not remains a question, but it could already have inspired many a drone hater.

Read the full story here and here.

What’s your favourite drone story? Share with us in the comments.

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