A reported surge of drone sightings during a major league baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies sent law enforcement scrambling to track down the operators, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US announced a new enforcement policy designed to accelerate legal actions against small time offenders of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
Reports from the US say no one was arrested after more than a half dozen drones were sighted around Coors Field between April 3 and 5 this year, but the drone pilots could still face a fine later.
The FAA and FBI issued a warning Thursday to try to keep drones away from the stadium during the Rockies' next home games because they are concerned about the potential threat they pose.
"The illegal drone activity did not jeopardise anyone's safety, but there were enough violations that the teams on the ground were concerned about the number of operators that did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation," FBI spokesperson Vikki Migoya said.
Airspace around major sporting events is usually restricted by the FAA to protect the crowds and make sure matches can proceed without interruptions. The aviation authority is only doing this to guard against attacks, some of which can cross into terrorism.
This would also explain why the federal government and World Cup host cities are investing hundreds of millions in drone defenses ahead of the tournament.
And with counter drone infrastructure having been installed in most strategic places and other deterrent measures like Remote Identification have been put in place, the FAA this week announced the Drone Expedited and Targeted Enforcement Response (DETER) program, which seeks to establish prompt settlement procedures for individual, first-time violators, offering them reduced civil penalties or shorter certificate suspensions in exchange for waiving their right to lengthy appeals.
“Under the new procedures, the flight standards service investigates apparent violations and develops an enforcement investigative report (EIR),” the FAA said in a statement.
“For those eligible for the Deter program, the FAA issues a formal violation notice via FedEx and email. This notice provides explicitly detailed information, including the EIR number, the investigator’s name, the date, time, and place of the offence, the specific 14 CFR regulations violated, and the proposed penalty or corrective action.”
Offenders who choose to participate in the Deter program will have just ten days to return the signed form, must pay the proposed fine, complete any mandated corrective actions, and surrender their remote pilot certificate a certificated pilot.
By signing the notice, the operator certifies under penalty of perjury that they have met these conditions.
“Crucially, participation constitutes a formal finding of violation and creates a violation history. In return for the reduced penalties, operators must waive all rights to appeal or seek review of the notice.
“They also agree not to initiate any litigation against the FAA, its employees, or its agents, and explicitly waive the right to collect fees or costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act or to challenge the validity of the debt owed to the US government.
Predictable, the FAA said it would retain prosecutorial discretion over when and where the program applies, focusing initially on locations expecting a high volume of drone flights.
Offenders would be ineligible if their cases involve alcohol or drug-related offences, weaponised drones, or violations of temporary flight restrictions.
The program also excludes operations demonstrating a lack of qualifications, particularly egregious conduct, and criminal activity unrelated to regulatory violations, such as the carriage of narcotics, assault, harassment, or the photographing of sensitive military installations.