These folks seem to break every FAA rule in a few minutes… thoughts?

Technology Forum Drones
1

Just saw this video of people flying drones in a way that looks pretty reckless. It feels like they ignored every rule possible. What do you all think?

2

What rules did they actually break?

3

Hale said:
What rules did they actually break?

I don’t think they broke much besides maybe the line of sight rule. Could be some issues with flying near traffic, though.

4

Hale said:
What rules did they actually break?

They broke a few:

  • Lost visual line of sight (VLOS)
  • Operated from a moving vehicle
  • Flew over people and traffic
  • Didn’t maintain a safe distance from people.
5

Hale said:
What rules did they actually break?

From what I can recall:

  • You can’t fly from a moving car unless it’s a very remote area.
  • They didn’t keep line of sight.
  • Flew too close to people.

If it was for fun, they might’ve been okay, but since they’re influencers, they’re bound to stricter rules.

6

@Cove
The person flying has 60k followers on YouTube, 80k on TikTok, and 240k on Instagram. They also have referral links to their gear, so they probably have a commercial license. Plus, the drone weighs over 250 grams.

7

@West
Knowing they’re influencers makes it worse somehow.

8

@Cove
If they’re creating monetized content, it’s a commercial flight. They have to follow stricter rules.

9

Whitney said:
@Cove
If they’re creating monetized content, it’s a commercial flight. They have to follow stricter rules.

Didn’t realise their channel was making money.

10

@Cove
Posting it on their 65k-subscriber YouTube channel makes it commercial, not recreational.

11

Hale said:
What rules did they actually break?

Are you serious?

12

This was actually fun to watch. It’s like seeing non-drone users get a taste of FPV for the first time.

13

Thanks for sharing a fun video, but the title feels a bit dramatic.

14

And now you’re giving them more views. You’re not part of the FAA, so stop acting like one.

15

Jamie said:
And now you’re giving them more views. You’re not part of the FAA, so stop acting like one.

Good thing some folks on this forum don’t have enforcement power. It’d turn into chaos.

16

Jamie said:
And now you’re giving them more views. You’re not part of the FAA, so stop acting like one.

Exactly.

17

Jamie said:
And now you’re giving them more views. You’re not part of the FAA, so stop acting like one.

I get the point about giving them attention, but it’s also important to point out when something is unsafe. That flight was risky and could’ve been dangerous. Cool video, though.

18

Jamie said:
And now you’re giving them more views. You’re not part of the FAA, so stop acting like one.

Grow up already.

19

I usually don’t care much about these things, but this video feels like an exception. If the drone had lost signal, it could’ve caused an accident. Avata drones are small, but I’ve seen them do damage.

20

@Whitney
Imagine if it hit a car’s windshield. It could cause the driver to panic and crash.