Can the FAA mail a ticket to a drone pilot if not caught on the spot by local law enforcement?

wjc777 · Jul 19, 2023

Dear members of the forum,

I hope this message finds you well. After seeing this image, I have a question regarding the legal implications for drone pilots in certain situations, and I was hoping to gain some insights from the knowledgeable members of this community.

Suppose a drone pilot is flying their drone in an area where it is not permitted or is in violation of other relevant regulations. If a local law enforcement officer located the pilot in the act with the equipment but did not subsequently catch the drone pilot “in the scene,” so to speak, can the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mail a ticket or impose fines on the pilot based solely on the report provided by the local law enforcement officer?

I understand that the FAA has jurisdiction over drone regulations in the United States, and they are responsible for enforcing these rules. However, in cases where the FAA may not have witnessed the violation directly but receives information from local law enforcement, I am uncertain about the legal process they may follow.

Could anyone shed some light on the procedures that the FAA might undertake in such situations? Are there any specific regulations or legal precedents that would apply here?

I greatly appreciate your expertise and insights into this matter. Thank you for your time and assistance!

kenautelevo2pro · Jul 19, 2023

Obviously this is a legal question you want to talk over with a lawyer and I don't believe we have any here; maybe. This is not legal advice but this is what I would do should this happen: Yes the FAA can contact you about flying your drone regardless who provides them with the information whether it's the public or law enforcement. The FAA will usually reach out to you with the goal of educating the pilot and come to an understanding rather than fines and sanctions. As long as you don't hurt someone or damage any property, I think you will be fine when it comes to the FAA for minor rules violations but you cannot expect the same should you fly in restricted airspace without authorization or somewhere you are not allowed to be such as a no fly zone.

I'm not a lawyer so I'll just leave it at that but my final comment is the FAA is not who you need to worry about. Ultimately any of us can figure out how to scrape together $10,000 and learn a hard one-time lesson if the shtf but where you need to be concerned is when law enforcement decides to take action and based on the images you posted, I can see where it is possible for you to get jammed up in a bad situation of the criminal flavor. You don't have to be caught in the act for any of this to happen. It's 2023 and a citation or summons in the mail is always a thing. Frankly I'd rather it go that way instead of confrontation on scene, handcuffs, confiscation, jail and bail, etc. where you stand much less of a chance to defend yourself. IMHO YMMV

slozukimc · Jul 20, 2023

This just gives people who have no clue about the actual laws/rules another way to annonymously harrass drone pilots.

airheadbit · Jul 20, 2023

I removed all my Youtube video, not going to explain what appears to be a 4,000 foot AGL view when flying on the top of a mountain looking over a valley, or a run up a stream which is beyond 4,000 (VLS) without showing the spotters posted along the route. It would be a good thing if someone could find out if there is a Criminal Statutes of Limitation for FAA violations.

slozukimc · Jul 20, 2023

airheadbit said:
I removed all my Youtube video, not going to explain what appears to be a 4,000 foot AGL view when flying on the top of a mountain looking over a valley, or a run up a stream which is beyond 4,000 (VLS) without showing the spotters posted along the route. It would be a good thing if someone could find out if there is a Criminal Statutes of Limitation for FAA violations.

Spotters don’t make BVLOS legal anyway.

herein2021 · Jul 21, 2023

wjc777 said:
View attachment 16217

Dear members of the forum,

I hope this message finds you well. After seeing this image, I have a question regarding the legal implications for drone pilots in certain situations, and I was hoping to gain some insights from the knowledgeable members of this community.

Suppose a drone pilot is flying their drone in an area where it is not permitted or is in violation of other relevant regulations. If a local law enforcement officer located the pilot in the act with the equipment but did not subsequently catch the drone pilot “in the scene,” so to speak, can the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mail a ticket or impose fines on the pilot based solely on the report provided by the local law enforcement officer?

I understand that the FAA has jurisdiction over drone regulations in the United States, and they are responsible for enforcing these rules. However, in cases where the FAA may not have witnessed the violation directly but receives information from local law enforcement, I am uncertain about the legal process they may follow.

Could anyone shed some light on the procedures that the FAA might undertake in such situations? Are there any specific regulations or legal precedents that would apply here?

I greatly appreciate your expertise and insights into this matter. Thank you for your time and assistance!

Of course they can, they use YouTube just like everyone else to prosecute violators. I have had talks with my local FSDO when I had some questions around rules, he said social media is the #1 way that they catch people; you are basically documenting in minute detail every rule that you are breaking then putting it on YT for the world to see. They don't even need to be contacted by law enforcement; they just scour YT, FB, IG, etc. for violations in their area. He also said they are literally prosecuting hundreds of individuals at any given time but it rarely makes the news; most people just do whatever it takes to make it quietly go away.

Here is one of the more famous cases where the FAA used an individual's own videos against them. Here in FL all state parks are banned as well, and plenty of violators haven't been caught on the scene but were later contacted by law enforcement due to their own videos.

He did say that they go after the most egregious violators first so for example they will be more likely to prosecute you over flying over an airport vs flying over people because they have limited resources; but local FSDO's have intimate knowledge of their assigned area as well as the applicable FAA laws so its not hard for them to look at your own pictures and video and start the process. And no, I highly doubt there is a statue of limitations, if a rule was in place at the time of the violation there is nothing that would prevent them from prosecuting you 10yrs from now if that's when they find your footage. Will they? Probably not. Could they? Absolutely.

pedals2paddles · Jul 21, 2023

No they don't just "mail you a ticket". The federal government does not issue tickets. That's what police officers issue for state and local non-criminal infractions.

The FAA can initiate any investigation they want. As a result of an investigation, they could just document and educate, or they could fine you, or they could actually arrest you.

herein2021 · Jul 21, 2023

pedals2paddles said:
No they don't just "mail you a ticket". The federal government does not issue tickets. That's what police officers issue for state and local non-criminal infractions.

The FAA can initiate any investigation they want. As a result of an investigation, they could just document and educate, or they could fine you, or they could actually arrest you.

That is a very accurate response; I think the spirit of the OP's question was can they do "x" to you if they aren't actually present while you are committing an infraction and the answer is definitely YES.

Joe DiMauro · Jul 21, 2023

Per US Federal statute

18 U.S. Code § 3282

What is the Statute of Limitations for Federal Crimes?

The statute of limitations is the time limit for filing charges against the defendant. The general federal statute of limitations for felonies stand for the proposition that the government can no longer file criminal charges for an offense once 5 years has passed. The federal statute of limitations is 18 USC 3282. This statue states:

Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense, not capital, unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within five years next after such offense shall have been committed.

David McVey · Aug 1, 2023

In the new Fact Sheet…Federal Aviation statues do not authorize the FAA to delegate its formal enforcement functions to state or local governments.

Tommy Molnar · Oct 17, 2023

airheadbit said:
I removed all my Youtube video, not going to explain what appears to be a 4,000 foot AGL view when flying on the top of a mountain looking over a valley, or a run up a stream which is beyond 4,000 (VLS) without showing the spotters posted along the route. It would be a good thing if someone could find out if there is a Criminal Statutes of Limitation for FAA violations.

I've been watching this guy's videos for years. Goes by the name "Dirty Bird". His older videos were spectacular, all done with software that allowed him to program the entire flight. Then launch and forget about it until the drong came back. He was using DJI stuff.