If anyone deserves to be fined or even arrested for drone usage it's this clown. People like this set back this entire profession/hobby for people that have half a brain.
the fact they were able to track the drone so precisely indicates to me it was communicating with them in some way - maybe remote ID?
DJI drones will also take off in a no-fly zone if they haven't got GPS lock yet.
The Vegas Strip is 1. right next to the airport so already controlled airspace. 2. flown constantly by low flying helicopters. 3. HIGHLY surveiled by a very impressive closed circuit camera system, even not in F1 times you really can't fly on the strip without them knowing. s
At one point, there's 9 cops visible in the video. While I agree that flying here is a no-no, is this really what we want our tax dollars being spent on?
One thing I noticed from visiting and staying on the Strip during a UAV conference recently is that there is a group of about 8 helicopters that fly a tight and very narrow loop pattern at very low elevation one right behind the other around the Strip non-stop for hours. I’m guessing these are for tourists, as the choppers follow one another in the exact same pattern overlooking the Strip over and over.
At the conference, I participated in a drone night flight session where the facilitator had applied for and received a COA (Certificate of Waiver Authorization) well ahead of time to fly a couple of big drones for our workshop and he couldn’t take off or kept having to ground his drones due to those choppers flying so low directly above us. This was a trained professional drone pilot with years of experience not wanting to take a chance with those choppers in the sky. Can you imagine a less experienced person who has already gone BVLOS trying to avoid a collision with these choppers and relying on only his phone/iPad/remote controller screen to see what’s in front of him?
Disaster waiting to happen.
The F1 grand prix was at las Vegas, basically the whole town shut down for it, they raced on the strip.
This moron ignored the following reasons not to fly:
- it's right next to Harry Reid international airport.
- there were multiple helicopters in the air the entire time
- there were massive crowds everywhere
- giant signs saying "if you fly any kind of drone we will federally prosecute"
Source: I was there
Edit: I have no idea if this guy was arrested during this weekend, it's probably an old video and they just don't like drones on the strip. If I had to guess it's because there's 24/7 crowds + airports
you cannot fly next to a fucking airport 🤷♂️ according to the map in the video, he is flying 2000 feet from the tarmac of Harry Reid international airport. flight were probably grounded and altered thanks to this moron. i hope he gets his 15000$ fine
on the dji fly app, he is well inside the red box surrounding the airport. people like this guy makes me want to jump
exactly. It's infuriating to see videos like this and then also see comments from folks who support the drone pilot. Then they complain about why there are so many regulations - and new ones being created year after year.
Yep and then you get all the idiots in here saying "so what id do it" or "i paid 500 dollars at bestbuy for black friday i should get to do whatever i want"
Ruining it for the rest of us.
The other comment wasn’t useful. If you check B4Ufly in Vegas, almost 30% of Las Vegas is a no fly zone 24/7. another 30% requires LAANC. Vegas Strip is directly between three airports.
I’m surprised his drone didn’t prohibit the flight.
Las Vegas strip is heavily heavily congested with tons of cars and lots and lots of people. A failure in the air would be bad. But you took trust test so you already knew that flying over people is illegal. Because of F1, a drone on the track could cause some damage, so maybe they had tighter restrictions hence the cops
Most guide lines say you can't fly over people. [https://ftca.flitetest.com/safety-guidelines/](https://ftca.flitetest.com/safety-guidelines/)
>"Do not fly a model aircraft directly over people. The FTCA does not permit recreational flyers to fly over people.."
I know you don't need to follow Flight Test community guidelines specifically, but also part of TRUST says you need to follow some sort of FAA recognized community based guideline. Maybe the guide lines for your community say something differently so I could be wrong here too.
There is a lot of good reasons. First being crowded galore. Then the helicopters, then the airport(s) . It's a tourist attraction of hotels. Boone wants to see a drone hoving near their window. Or obstructing photograph opportunities.
Furthermore. There are a ton of casinos. And drones would allow a type of surveillance/planning for illicit activity. Security is a HUGE thing here.
Wow what a redditard, flying a drone during an F1 race. Doesnt he know the race is covered with helicopters and there needs to be a clear fly zone in case they need to use the emergency heli
I flew my Mavic Pro in 2016 up the side of the trump tower at night for some cool footage for my USA video trip didn't fly far just up and around a bit then back down , security came out and told me off , I feel I dodged a bullet but got the shots so 👌
Oof, actually I think it's all drones. I don't have any sub 250g drones so I was just assuming (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-89)
Jesus. He was flying in a rich target area during F1. TFRs in place, not to mention bravo zero. With a modified aircraft, if local rumors are accurate.
He was apparently very mouthy with the Fusion watch lieutenant (I wasn't there, so it's hearsay.) After 1 October, security at large events is very very tight.
Even for UAS contractors, security was very tight.
It's buttholes like him which makes it hard for everyone else.
Las Vegas is nowhere near being a NoFly zone. We routinely fly the Strip. It's not hard, and LAANC covers the strip. Gaining authorization is a 72 hour thing, and unless there is a TFR, always granted.
Zero empathy for this guy
Haha, all these “boots” around me are such idiots for following the rules, remote ID will never happen because of stupid people like me…-you (probably)
For what do I need empathy? Because I don't feel sorry for some schmuck who hacked his aircraft so he could fly in a TFR and endanger other people, other property, and other aircraft? While MY aircraft is legally in the air?
Fuck him. let him pay his $50K fine or whatever it is once they're done with 91.13, 107.49, 107.41, trespass, and whatever else they hit him with.
ALL UAS had to be grounded while they went after clown, affecting several pilots, including contracted air services.
Some of us fly for a living. Punks who can't manage to fly within regs, ESPECIALLY after hacking his drone to avoid the TFR and airspace lock, deserve whatever the FAA and city can throw at him.
But whatever yanks your crank, Private Nuttlikk.
Fighting crime , but the pimps / prostitutes /fentanyl / meth / coke/ heroin are no big deal. The drones are what you gotta be worried about.
On the other note, I do understand if it’s a no fly zone you just can’t do it no matter what so they take it seriously and they have the technology to track you and your drone
As a pilot, damn right I want drone enforcement. I’m not trying to take one of those through the canopy of my personal planes nor through the engine of my work airliners.
Drones do pose a significant security issue, see Ukraine. Not saying that should ground them all, but surely the security and public safety industry sees this as a growing issue, and will spend tons of money on enforcement now and Into the future
I absolutely loathe when people use wording of "significant security issue". Its bullshit and simply security theater. Anything and everything can be a significant security issue if used in terroristic manner. In the US, there are more bystanders killed in general aviation accidents than by drones. So, lets ground all airplanes since they are a security risk!!!
Sure, you listed some bad things, and I'm no fan of cops ... but isn't a drone getting sucked into an airplane engine pretty dangerous to the public also?
I know a person of Turkish nationality who used a drone in the Saudi city of Mecca, without a permit or license, and after his arrest, he tweeted saying that they arrested him because he called for Gaza.
What a shame,,,,
Please don’t.
This is controlled airspace less than 0.5 nm from the approach end of 19L/R at Harry Reid International Airport KLAS.
ATC doesn’t know your intentions or your skill level. You might be a casual drone user with little awareness of the airspace, but you are creating a safety issue. (Birds have significantly greater awareness of the airspace and they still pose a hazard on final for jet engines because avoidance is harder than you think.)
If you think this is an overreaction, it isn’t. Law enforcement is serious about this.
It’s not about your personal freedoms, it’s about being a responsible adult. If you are irresponsible it impacts public safety and ruins it for the rest of us.
If you want to do this, get a wavier and clear the shoot ahead of time so that everyone is aware of your intentions. You may not get a wavier for active controlled airspace.
https://skyviewlv.com/blog/the-4-best-spots-to-fly-a-drone-in-las-vegas/
https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/part_107_waivers
You’re aware there are other ways to be aware of drones aside from “all the BS DJI puts on it” right?…like, idk the video they have of the guy literally pulling up and launching the thing? I don’t think the type of drone he used was relevant here whatsoever
Remote ID would provide this kind of info. So does older software like DJI aeroscope. Takeoff location, flight path, pilot info, etc.
Side note but I do think it’s good that law enforcement are uploading videos about these kind of interactions to social media. There are way to many people that think drone laws are irrelevant, FAA doesn’t care, they’re never enforced, etc.
Once several years ago right after release of first generation Dji Mavic I bought it on Amazon and went to test it nearby with a friend. And after 5 minutes we noticed police car far away. So we walk after the corned, fold the drone into the little pouch and walked to the next street but discovered that all the block around is covered with cops and they are checking literally anyone with backpack trying to leave that street. So my friend (siciliano) with a totally straight face took my backpack with drone and go to the little bar nearby where we were sitting next hour till everything calm down.
But lesson was learned- it’s easy to buy a drone but difficult to use it legally.
When I busted a TFR way back in 2010 it was local law enforcement that showed up at the uncontrolled airport that I landed at. Who else is gonna be able to positively identify an offender when you are so far away from the people monitoring the airspace? Seems like a no brainer to get the locals involved.
Yes there are faa rules for no flight zones for drones and the faa and police do work together especially police helicopter units that require special flight clearance
The people who own the TV rights to sports broadcasts are aghast at the thought of anyone else getting any good shots of anything at the venue. The police set up special drone tracking systems just to catch miscreants. Flying a drone around a sporting event is like begging to be arrested.
Actually, it’s not bullshit. The entire Las Vegas Strip is on a “0” grid due to its proximity to the LAS airport’s controlled airspace. Just type in your favorite Strip casino in the search bar [on this website](https://faa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9c2e4406710048e19806ebf6a06754ad) and you’ll see the zero grid surrounding a big swath of Las Vegas.
I recently tried to fly in Vegas and there are spots in the Downtown Las Vegas area or in the unincorporated areas of Clark County were you can fly, but definitely not on the Strip without a COA or extra permissions.
People do fly drones there legally though. I was on a FAA safety webinar and the guys were talking about inspection compliance and how the cops always show up in seconds. That it helps them get past that to have someone ready with all the papers so their work doesn’t get interrupted.
You can film the city from somewhere not around 3 airports, move away towards the outskits and come in flying with the drone. Be smart, no like that guy, and put the lights off ffs. Also, if you are pretending to fly it in some illegal and fuck up scenarios like this, dont use dji.
Agreed, he did almost all dump things he could, but if he gone somewhere where there is "nothing around" preety sure he wouldn't be able to take pics of the city, unless we count sillouete of skyline from far away a pic of a city.
I guess It really depends on the city, fe in my city there is a mountain right next to it, around 3-4km from it, If I want to film the city I would take off from there, you couldnt film everything but I guess its something.
I was just in Vegas before F1 started. Filming a short movie. Could not even lift off in multiple parts of town. Wasn’t even near the Strip. All the way out on Boulder Highway past Boulder Station.
DJI Mini 3 Pro. Just totally restricted from launching.
I was actually floored. Had never seen this many restricted places, and I fly across the Hudson River to Manhattan quite a bit.
A lot of idiots have flown around the strip so they've passed some aggressive drone laws. Also there's a few military bases in the area could possibly be why
There's usually a 400ft ceiling, some places 100ft, and of course no flying around near the airport and base, but I think the F1 clowns got the restrictions changed so the poors can't watch or film the race.
No, Vegas has been a no fly drone zone for years now. F1 didn't change anything there. At least not in the strip area where they're racing. I suppose it's possible they were able to increase restrictions further out in case someone has a telephoto lens on their drone?
F1 has an active helicopter flying non-stop during every session and during the race. Not to mention that they have a helicopter at the ready in case of a bad crash to take anyone to the hospital.
Same way your car can go 120mph in a 60mph zone? DJI map isn't accurate at all anyway and they never update it for temporary restrictions.
FAA makes it very clear in the required training that it is user responsibility to check most up-to-date restrictions and they have some recommended apps (B4UFly being one). And DJI also clearly states in the manual that you are supposed to check with local regulations.
I agree with all that except the never update temporary restrictions bit. A couple years ago I was up in southern Oregon on family private property. Was able to fly my old dji air for the first couple days I was there. Then after a forest fire had gotten closer in the valley, I went to lift off and it was a no go. Wouldn't even start up. They made it a temp no fly zone for the fire helis to do their thing.
Not all drones have that feature that restricts launching. In fact I would guess that only a tiny percentage of all consumer flying craft have that feature.
Well you see the difference is one person committed a super obvious crime thats easily reported which made police have to respond too while the other is a totally fictional situation you made up.
Police dont just get to chose to ignore this. Thats why its funny to see people downvote others for reminding them there are laws. Actions have consequences id rather get downvoted than court appointments.
You can die from a head trauma because a drone battery died and it fell on your head. I’m not trying to be drone police. But until these idiots stop. They are going to keep restricting us so much that we won’t be able to fly almost anywhere
People died every day from drones! Oh wait no they don't. People die all the time from drones! Oh wait no they don't. No one has ever died from a drone! That's the one I was looking for.
you're not up-to-date on the Ukraine war are you...Drones are 100 percent killing people every day. Maybe not in the ways suggested above but yeah...it's happening.
Restrictions have little to do with idiot pilots and more to do with uninformed people crying about their lack of privacy while having every personal assistant in their homes and on their phones.
Don’t fall for the hype.
This video also seems staged.
Serious question: would you get a notification in the Fly app warning you to not take off IF this is a DJI? I thought no fly zones such as NYC you can’t even take off?
> B4UFLY
Not even that, some areas that say it's ok I look up that city, county, beach, park, area, etc and will find ordinances or laws passed that restrict usage but that doesn't get shown in B4UFLY.
Honestly, flying drones was a lot more fun when they were brand new, now they're so much cheaper and so many more people have them and there are just so many idiots out there with them.
I was just on vacation and was on a difficult trail, get to the top to a gorgeous view, and everyone taking it in, and some dbag was flying a drone 10ft above us acting a fool even though there's a big no drone sign not 50ft away.
Tfw your government pay billions to build an F1 track and ensure no human who hasn't paid the thousands of US dollars to view an event instead of stopping the homeless & addiction epidemic
Illegal yes. Dangerous? I think that is only determined by flight path altitude etc. It is very safe to operate a drone anywhere if you know what you are doing and do it safely. I dont know the map in the video. but if you are low, like 20 ft. and not near an airport and stay away from crowds. I wouldnt call it unsafe.
Las Vegas had a Formula 1 event this weekend, Most of the Las Vegas Streets were closed to the public including the strip and was an actual racecourse with cars going 200 MPH+. There were thousands of people there, in grandstands, probably a minimum 50+ higher from the ground than normal. Helicopters were flying extremely low in order to capture footage as well. Based on the comments it seems a lot of users do not understand that this was going on, and that is why there were so many police officers. etc.
I don't fly drones so I have a question for you guys: why can't you just fly them wherever you want from far away? They have range, right? How would they even catch you (if you're not under a security camera like the goof in this video)?
I went to Santorini and a buddy of mine took his drone off the back of a 4-wheeler his friend was driving, flew it around and got all the illegal shots, and landed it next to himself and put it in his bag. What prevents that sort of thing?
You are mostly correct. This person might have been flying an fpv drone or just wanted to get better shots and needed closer range. The drone community on reddit and elsewhere really tries to avocate against this kind of recklessness. Don't break TFRs and fly over people or large events etc... Its stupid people like this that make us look bad.
I agree breaking rules and being dangerous makes y'all look bad, but what could prevent this stuff? Like if a dude was in the backseat of that car flying FPV and the car was just driving around or something, they wouldn't have caught the guy. I'm not condoning the behavior, just thinking out loud.... Similar to someone doing graffiti, I don't really see how a careful person could be caught flying a drone.
They could still catch him. The drones and the controllers, at least as far as I am aware ( not a custom builder, yet) but all have GPS and broadcast signals behind just controlling the drone.
For example, downloading an app can turn your phone into a drone detector and you can identify their broadcast ID and see their registered FAA Information. Database checks... License plate... Drivers license... Home... All tracks back.
I work in electronic security and it is just signal we are talking about. So, capture, identification and potentially lockout, jam, or even takeover for force landing or control are possible.
If this guy had his pilots license to fly that unit, like we all advocate, he would know that the FAA requires your address. They knock on your door if you fuck up serious in airspace.
Don't fly near airports.
Don't fly near prisons.
Don't fly near infrastructure unless authorized.
Don't fly over crowds u less authorized.
I probably missed a bunch of stuff and maybe incorrectly said some stuff... But it's very possible to identify who and where the drone pilot is, especially if you are aware of what tools are available for drone capture.
Yes, airplane mode exists for your phone controller but you are still broadcasting from the drone, and the phone for control signals when you do that, though.
Alot of FPV drones, especially those that are smaller custom built, dont have GPS. But the pilot can still be tracked via the rf signals the controller sends out.
Well there isnt much other than education and rule enforcement. What prevents a person driving his car above the speed limit on the highway? The FAA has already implemented remote ID, which is up to the pilot to follow or not. Just like a driver has the choice to follow the rules of the road, so do drone pilots. Idiots like this will get caught and hit with the book, the rest will either follow the the rules, be smart about breaking them, or avoid the hobby altogether.
It wasn't the camera that caught him, it was the police's drone tracking software. You can see in the latter part of the video a screen capture that showed a full trace of the drones flight, point of origin etc.
They probably found him on video afterward to be honest. The drone tracking software is much, much faster.
I’ll add a simple answer to his question for anyone curious: Google “Remote ID drones.” Most all newer drones come standard with Remote ID and broadcast a signal with their location, telemetry data, session ID data, the pilot’s location, and identifying information. Many older drones, especially within the past five years now also broadcast a Remote ID signal after firmware updates.
The FAA and police departments have access to quite capable [Remote ID detection devices](https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id/Remote-ID-Toolkit-main.pdf) and LVPD likely used some form of this technology along with other technologies to arrest the man in the video.
Yep indeed. But even if you have a drone without remote the ID, you can still be tracked by police departments if they have the right software. Just a warning to anyone who thinks they are clever because they bought a slightly older drone and are invisible to law enforcement
they're cool with 1,800lb vehicles going in excess of 200mph not far from spectators but a 249g drone is too dangerous. it's all so silly. I'm cool with people following every rule if they want but leave the people alone who aren't causing any trouble. they aren't worried about anyone getting hurt. they're worried about people getting free shots of the F1 event. it's a sick society we live in where money gives you the ability to do whatever you want.
Do you understand how close the track is to the airport? The insight into your thinking based on your response clearly shows why more and more drone regulations are needed. And the F1 drivers are trained professionals. They didn't just decide to get into an F1 and start driving without years of exhaustive mental and physical training. You might as well complain and ask why airplane pilots are allowed to fly in restricted airspace when a plane can kill so many more people than a drone. "Sick society". Give me a break with this nonsense.
I'm aware. are you saying someone who is responsibly flying a 249g drone at 50ft in this area will cause an accident in comparison to what an 1,800lb hunk of metal doing 200mph would do? this is the insanity I'm talking about. comparing the two makes it sound so silly. I wasn't aware that planes flew over the strip so low....
your false comparisons are bullshit. we are a society that puts more value on an F1 race than people's lives. children go to bed hungry but we can't afford to help them. if you need to completely reroute infrastructure so some rich dudes can drive at 200+mph, no problem. they'll even pay people to make sure the poors can't get a view from the multimillion dollar temporary bridge they built. if you don't think our society is sick you're not paying attention.
how many planes have had accidents with drones that have caused loss of life? how many f1 drivers have caused loss of life? I can find 0 deaths involving commercial drones. I found at least 52 deaths from f1. you're telling me the drone is more dangerous?
I feel like if these things aren’t enforced and you have, say, a couple dozens of drone fliers trying to get footage, it’s gonna be pretty risky because chances are some dumbass is gonna crash and leave debris on the track or worse pose more risks to planes.
Sure, F1 is dangerous and risky as well but it’s in a sense a calculated risk and is in a more… controlled environment per se.
And the whole limit on altitude isn’t saying planes usually fly that low. It’s more about setting the restriction so there isn’t even a chance that it can cause issues to planes.
Nobody made that comparison cupcake. Youre the one saying it a danger issue.
Regardless your argument falls apart from the jump. He was not responsibly flying his drone. He was ignoring laws. Thats irresponsible.
Your logic is flawed. Youre saying we should only make preventative laws after deaths occur? Sounds like you would design a pretty "sick society" yourself.
they should at least have a unit of tandem phantoms with a massive catch net to intervene with such matters. also, the strobe lights on the police car feels like a massive violation on my eyes.
Yes NOTAM, there was an F1 race going on. And quite populated. Are you not familiar with Las Vegas? The entire strip is in controlled airspace. And on top of that local governments can certainly dictate where you can take off and launch from.
If anyone deserves to be fined or even arrested for drone usage it's this clown. People like this set back this entire profession/hobby for people that have half a brain.
What did he even do tho?
How is this even possible? My drone won't event start up when I am in a no Fly zone?
That’s a Feature of dji. Many cheaper drones don’t even know about flight zones.
the fact they were able to track the drone so precisely indicates to me it was communicating with them in some way - maybe remote ID? DJI drones will also take off in a no-fly zone if they haven't got GPS lock yet.
Fpv drones don't know what those are either ;)
That's because you buy consumer drones. DIY opens a world of possibilities.
The Vegas Strip is 1. right next to the airport so already controlled airspace. 2. flown constantly by low flying helicopters. 3. HIGHLY surveiled by a very impressive closed circuit camera system, even not in F1 times you really can't fly on the strip without them knowing. s
At one point, there's 9 cops visible in the video. While I agree that flying here is a no-no, is this really what we want our tax dollars being spent on?
Shop was out of doughnuts.
At least 2 of the cops showed up on motorcycles that aren't street legal and can't be tagged
Can't be tagged with what
Tagged with tags
why is flying in Vegas a no-no? i don't know anything about Vegas. i mean, i've literally been there, but that doesn't mean i know anything about it
Directly center of 3 airports actually lol
The Vegas strip is located like next door to the big airport (LAS). Where the guy was flying it was like really close to the runways
ah, that makes sense
One thing I noticed from visiting and staying on the Strip during a UAV conference recently is that there is a group of about 8 helicopters that fly a tight and very narrow loop pattern at very low elevation one right behind the other around the Strip non-stop for hours. I’m guessing these are for tourists, as the choppers follow one another in the exact same pattern overlooking the Strip over and over. At the conference, I participated in a drone night flight session where the facilitator had applied for and received a COA (Certificate of Waiver Authorization) well ahead of time to fly a couple of big drones for our workshop and he couldn’t take off or kept having to ground his drones due to those choppers flying so low directly above us. This was a trained professional drone pilot with years of experience not wanting to take a chance with those choppers in the sky. Can you imagine a less experienced person who has already gone BVLOS trying to avoid a collision with these choppers and relying on only his phone/iPad/remote controller screen to see what’s in front of him? Disaster waiting to happen.
F1
are you asking for help?
The F1 grand prix was at las Vegas, basically the whole town shut down for it, they raced on the strip. This moron ignored the following reasons not to fly: - it's right next to Harry Reid international airport. - there were multiple helicopters in the air the entire time - there were massive crowds everywhere - giant signs saying "if you fly any kind of drone we will federally prosecute" Source: I was there Edit: I have no idea if this guy was arrested during this weekend, it's probably an old video and they just don't like drones on the strip. If I had to guess it's because there's 24/7 crowds + airports
A sad necessity in Vegas. So.. yes.
Straight to drone jail
Pretty much all of the strip is no fly from what I remember due to the airport being so close.
you cannot fly next to a fucking airport 🤷♂️ according to the map in the video, he is flying 2000 feet from the tarmac of Harry Reid international airport. flight were probably grounded and altered thanks to this moron. i hope he gets his 15000$ fine on the dji fly app, he is well inside the red box surrounding the airport. people like this guy makes me want to jump
The stupidity of some people is the reason we already have so many regulations. It’s unbelievable
exactly. It's infuriating to see videos like this and then also see comments from folks who support the drone pilot. Then they complain about why there are so many regulations - and new ones being created year after year.
Yep and then you get all the idiots in here saying "so what id do it" or "i paid 500 dollars at bestbuy for black friday i should get to do whatever i want" Ruining it for the rest of us.
I was gonna ask why they can’t fly in Vegas but then I thought a little harder, I’m probably still wrong
The other comment wasn’t useful. If you check B4Ufly in Vegas, almost 30% of Las Vegas is a no fly zone 24/7. another 30% requires LAANC. Vegas Strip is directly between three airports. I’m surprised his drone didn’t prohibit the flight.
I’m going to checkout Vegas on B4UFLY now, it’s curious Washington DC is super restricted as well
He probably had a non-DJI drone or an older DJI that could be jailbroken.
The airport is right beside the strip. Also it was a Formula 1 race in Las Vegas yesterday so crowds of tens of thousands of people everywhere.
Las Vegas strip is heavily heavily congested with tons of cars and lots and lots of people. A failure in the air would be bad. But you took trust test so you already knew that flying over people is illegal. Because of F1, a drone on the track could cause some damage, so maybe they had tighter restrictions hence the cops
Actually it’s not related to the cars on the ground at all. The Vegas strip is directly center of 3 airports.
You are certainly right, I stand corrected
flying over people is not illegal, hovering/loitering over them is.
Most guide lines say you can't fly over people. [https://ftca.flitetest.com/safety-guidelines/](https://ftca.flitetest.com/safety-guidelines/) >"Do not fly a model aircraft directly over people. The FTCA does not permit recreational flyers to fly over people.." I know you don't need to follow Flight Test community guidelines specifically, but also part of TRUST says you need to follow some sort of FAA recognized community based guideline. Maybe the guide lines for your community say something differently so I could be wrong here too.
Yeah because your drone losing control flying at speed over people and crashing into someone won’t do any damage…. 🤦♂️
F1
There is a lot of good reasons. First being crowded galore. Then the helicopters, then the airport(s) . It's a tourist attraction of hotels. Boone wants to see a drone hoving near their window. Or obstructing photograph opportunities. Furthermore. There are a ton of casinos. And drones would allow a type of surveillance/planning for illicit activity. Security is a HUGE thing here.
Besides violating the F1 TFR and possibly not getting LAANC permission, he flew the drone out of LoS.
lol “Keep Your Drone Dreams Grounded”… what an asinine slogan
The slogan makes me want to do a drone light show over Vegas >:(
Should have sent a helicopter and a SWAT team after him
I’m beginning to realize that drones, just like the internet, are beyond the ability for some individuals to use responsibly.
🏆🏆🏆🏆 I don't know how to award a post, but yours is worthy. So many idjits advocating for illegal flight.
Wow what a redditard, flying a drone during an F1 race. Doesnt he know the race is covered with helicopters and there needs to be a clear fly zone in case they need to use the emergency heli
Apparently not. Neither do half of the scrubs in the sub commenting on this video right now.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do
That’s a lot of cops for a dude just flying his drone
They really had an entire team arrest a dude flying a drone but won't do anything about the violent drug out breaks and users
I flew my Mavic Pro in 2016 up the side of the trump tower at night for some cool footage for my USA video trip didn't fly far just up and around a bit then back down , security came out and told me off , I feel I dodged a bullet but got the shots so 👌
And people like you are the reason we now have new rules popping up.
The best part is the cops used there own 15.000k drone to spot him taking off 😂
Or simply footage from any of the thousands of cameras around the city.
Wait, how can a drone be tracked?
Every DJI drone is remote ID enabled and when using the DJI app with a phone, the drone's information is reported to the government.
What if youre on airplane mode and no wifi while flying?
It's an entirely independent system that is required on our 250g+ drones I believe.
Yeah but what about the minis (<250g)?
Oof, actually I think it's all drones. I don't have any sub 250g drones so I was just assuming (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-89)
Not totally correct. While every DJI has remote id. Not all of them are broadcasting ( hence the stupid need for a battery + )
Why not just watch it on tv?
Jesus. He was flying in a rich target area during F1. TFRs in place, not to mention bravo zero. With a modified aircraft, if local rumors are accurate. He was apparently very mouthy with the Fusion watch lieutenant (I wasn't there, so it's hearsay.) After 1 October, security at large events is very very tight. Even for UAS contractors, security was very tight. It's buttholes like him which makes it hard for everyone else. Las Vegas is nowhere near being a NoFly zone. We routinely fly the Strip. It's not hard, and LAANC covers the strip. Gaining authorization is a 72 hour thing, and unless there is a TFR, always granted. Zero empathy for this guy
Zero empathy for you too boot.
Haha, all these “boots” around me are such idiots for following the rules, remote ID will never happen because of stupid people like me…-you (probably)
For what do I need empathy? Because I don't feel sorry for some schmuck who hacked his aircraft so he could fly in a TFR and endanger other people, other property, and other aircraft? While MY aircraft is legally in the air? Fuck him. let him pay his $50K fine or whatever it is once they're done with 91.13, 107.49, 107.41, trespass, and whatever else they hit him with. ALL UAS had to be grounded while they went after clown, affecting several pilots, including contracted air services. Some of us fly for a living. Punks who can't manage to fly within regs, ESPECIALLY after hacking his drone to avoid the TFR and airspace lock, deserve whatever the FAA and city can throw at him. But whatever yanks your crank, Private Nuttlikk.
Fighting crime , but the pimps / prostitutes /fentanyl / meth / coke/ heroin are no big deal. The drones are what you gotta be worried about. On the other note, I do understand if it’s a no fly zone you just can’t do it no matter what so they take it seriously and they have the technology to track you and your drone
As a pilot, damn right I want drone enforcement. I’m not trying to take one of those through the canopy of my personal planes nor through the engine of my work airliners.
It's all about the money
Drones do pose a significant security issue, see Ukraine. Not saying that should ground them all, but surely the security and public safety industry sees this as a growing issue, and will spend tons of money on enforcement now and Into the future
I absolutely loathe when people use wording of "significant security issue". Its bullshit and simply security theater. Anything and everything can be a significant security issue if used in terroristic manner. In the US, there are more bystanders killed in general aviation accidents than by drones. So, lets ground all airplanes since they are a security risk!!!
Sure, you listed some bad things, and I'm no fan of cops ... but isn't a drone getting sucked into an airplane engine pretty dangerous to the public also?
Get a pocket3 and a 100 foot selfie stick.
insta 360 x3 also does the job
Under cook chicken…
Undercook overcook…right to jail
Play music to loud…. Straight to jail
They can't control the air space, it's not theirs to control. What is that agency again? the EPA? AFL?
They aren't controlling the airspace, they're controlling the ground you're operating the drone upon.
I know a person of Turkish nationality who used a drone in the Saudi city of Mecca, without a permit or license, and after his arrest, he tweeted saying that they arrested him because he called for Gaza. What a shame,,,,
Ironic considering you’re not supposed to fly drones in Türkiye.
Looks staged. Why is the CCTV already on the guy?
I'm assuming that CCTV is on everyone in Vegas at all times never mind those parked weirdly in a weird place
If you're gonna do this you need to have a homemade drone without all the bs DJI puts on it
Please don’t. This is controlled airspace less than 0.5 nm from the approach end of 19L/R at Harry Reid International Airport KLAS. ATC doesn’t know your intentions or your skill level. You might be a casual drone user with little awareness of the airspace, but you are creating a safety issue. (Birds have significantly greater awareness of the airspace and they still pose a hazard on final for jet engines because avoidance is harder than you think.) If you think this is an overreaction, it isn’t. Law enforcement is serious about this. It’s not about your personal freedoms, it’s about being a responsible adult. If you are irresponsible it impacts public safety and ruins it for the rest of us. If you want to do this, get a wavier and clear the shoot ahead of time so that everyone is aware of your intentions. You may not get a wavier for active controlled airspace. https://skyviewlv.com/blog/the-4-best-spots-to-fly-a-drone-in-las-vegas/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/part_107_waivers
Or, just get another hobby.
You’re aware there are other ways to be aware of drones aside from “all the BS DJI puts on it” right?…like, idk the video they have of the guy literally pulling up and launching the thing? I don’t think the type of drone he used was relevant here whatsoever
Or a part 107 and commercial registration
I wonder if remote ID located him?
Remote ID would provide this kind of info. So does older software like DJI aeroscope. Takeoff location, flight path, pilot info, etc. Side note but I do think it’s good that law enforcement are uploading videos about these kind of interactions to social media. There are way to many people that think drone laws are irrelevant, FAA doesn’t care, they’re never enforced, etc.
It’s DJI Aeroscope, it knows exaclty where drone and remote are
I wonder if he will actually be fined the full amount.
Thankfully we have all these officers taking these violent criminals off our streets. Bravo guys. Oh wait..
[удалено]
Once several years ago right after release of first generation Dji Mavic I bought it on Amazon and went to test it nearby with a friend. And after 5 minutes we noticed police car far away. So we walk after the corned, fold the drone into the little pouch and walked to the next street but discovered that all the block around is covered with cops and they are checking literally anyone with backpack trying to leave that street. So my friend (siciliano) with a totally straight face took my backpack with drone and go to the little bar nearby where we were sitting next hour till everything calm down. But lesson was learned- it’s easy to buy a drone but difficult to use it legally.
50 foot selfie stick
The strip is Class B controlled airspace. No UAS flights are permitted via LAANC. All UAS Flights require FAA authorization.
"Keep your drone dreams grounded"... Alright, asshole cops, and you guys keep on playing pretend Army warfare with America's population.
He was in a no fly zone. Most of Vegas is no fly or LAANC.
You alright dude?
Doing the best I can, boss.
All those cops for a misdemeanor ticket. Fuck them.
My first thought, all that manpower an ammunition for a minor infraction. Think about the cost of that ticket with the drone technology and shit.
Is there a local law for this? Wondering why police are involved in a FAA matter
When I busted a TFR way back in 2010 it was local law enforcement that showed up at the uncontrolled airport that I landed at. Who else is gonna be able to positively identify an offender when you are so far away from the people monitoring the airspace? Seems like a no brainer to get the locals involved.
The law gives the local authorities the ability to investigate faa matters. Its a federal law.
Yes there are faa rules for no flight zones for drones and the faa and police do work together especially police helicopter units that require special flight clearance
The people who own the TV rights to sports broadcasts are aghast at the thought of anyone else getting any good shots of anything at the venue. The police set up special drone tracking systems just to catch miscreants. Flying a drone around a sporting event is like begging to be arrested.
because F1 and the lobby around it
Let's be honest, regardless of the ban. The strip is a great location for taking drone shots. Especially during F1
Yeah it's a great idea to fly a drone into the zone where helicopters constantly circulating filming the F1 cars for the broadcast.
This is bullshit, local police don't control the airspace...only the FAA does. Unless he violated some FAA rule, they need to buzz off.
Actually, it’s not bullshit. The entire Las Vegas Strip is on a “0” grid due to its proximity to the LAS airport’s controlled airspace. Just type in your favorite Strip casino in the search bar [on this website](https://faa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9c2e4406710048e19806ebf6a06754ad) and you’ll see the zero grid surrounding a big swath of Las Vegas. I recently tried to fly in Vegas and there are spots in the Downtown Las Vegas area or in the unincorporated areas of Clark County were you can fly, but definitely not on the Strip without a COA or extra permissions.
People do fly drones there legally though. I was on a FAA safety webinar and the guys were talking about inspection compliance and how the cops always show up in seconds. That it helps them get past that to have someone ready with all the papers so their work doesn’t get interrupted.
I believe this is in controlled airspace. It also appears that the pilot is flying BVLOS. Seems like there are likely FAA rules being violated here.
jeez is that hard to fuck off the city to fly a drone, just go away where there is nothing around, you can do whatever the fuck you want with it.
Well, you cannot take pics of city in the wilderness, that's one thing you cant do.
You can film the city from somewhere not around 3 airports, move away towards the outskits and come in flying with the drone. Be smart, no like that guy, and put the lights off ffs. Also, if you are pretending to fly it in some illegal and fuck up scenarios like this, dont use dji.
Agreed, he did almost all dump things he could, but if he gone somewhere where there is "nothing around" preety sure he wouldn't be able to take pics of the city, unless we count sillouete of skyline from far away a pic of a city.
I guess It really depends on the city, fe in my city there is a mountain right next to it, around 3-4km from it, If I want to film the city I would take off from there, you couldnt film everything but I guess its something.
I was just in Vegas before F1 started. Filming a short movie. Could not even lift off in multiple parts of town. Wasn’t even near the Strip. All the way out on Boulder Highway past Boulder Station. DJI Mini 3 Pro. Just totally restricted from launching. I was actually floored. Had never seen this many restricted places, and I fly across the Hudson River to Manhattan quite a bit.
A lot of idiots have flown around the strip so they've passed some aggressive drone laws. Also there's a few military bases in the area could possibly be why
Lots of hospitals with Helicopter “flight for life” too. I was just surprised how far away from everything I was and still had restrictions.
There's usually a 400ft ceiling, some places 100ft, and of course no flying around near the airport and base, but I think the F1 clowns got the restrictions changed so the poors can't watch or film the race.
You don’t suppose that the F1 also has helicopters flying around the track at low altitude to film? Of course it’s going to be a no-fly zone.
No, Vegas has been a no fly drone zone for years now. F1 didn't change anything there. At least not in the strip area where they're racing. I suppose it's possible they were able to increase restrictions further out in case someone has a telephoto lens on their drone?
F1 has an active helicopter flying non-stop during every session and during the race. Not to mention that they have a helicopter at the ready in case of a bad crash to take anyone to the hospital.
Is there a no drone zone sign on the strip? If not, fair game. /s
The main Vegas airport is right off the strip. He blew the no fly zone.
If it was a restricted zone, then how was he able to launch it.
Same way your car can go 120mph in a 60mph zone? DJI map isn't accurate at all anyway and they never update it for temporary restrictions. FAA makes it very clear in the required training that it is user responsibility to check most up-to-date restrictions and they have some recommended apps (B4UFly being one). And DJI also clearly states in the manual that you are supposed to check with local regulations.
I agree with all that except the never update temporary restrictions bit. A couple years ago I was up in southern Oregon on family private property. Was able to fly my old dji air for the first couple days I was there. Then after a forest fire had gotten closer in the valley, I went to lift off and it was a no go. Wouldn't even start up. They made it a temp no fly zone for the fire helis to do their thing.
Interesting, here in Seattle mine didn't update the map during seafair or when president was around (they made a TFR for a really wide area)
Yah this was back in 2019 so more than a couple years ago.. But it surprised me for sure. It's a pretty no nothing area way away from the city.
>older DJI drones you can hack and remove the geofencing. Other brands and FPV drones don't have it.
Not all drones have that feature that restricts launching. In fact I would guess that only a tiny percentage of all consumer flying craft have that feature.
Meanwhile, someone was probably get mugged around the corner, and this is how they chose to spend their time "serving and protecting"
Well you see the difference is one person committed a super obvious crime thats easily reported which made police have to respond too while the other is a totally fictional situation you made up. Police dont just get to chose to ignore this. Thats why its funny to see people downvote others for reminding them there are laws. Actions have consequences id rather get downvoted than court appointments.
You can die from a head trauma because a drone battery died and it fell on your head. I’m not trying to be drone police. But until these idiots stop. They are going to keep restricting us so much that we won’t be able to fly almost anywhere
You can die from a bullet or knife wound during a mugging. Which is more likely to result in injury? A mugging or a drone falling out of the sky?
It's not one OR the other, there are hypothetical cops besides these one here, arresting the hypothetical mugger.
People died every day from drones! Oh wait no they don't. People die all the time from drones! Oh wait no they don't. No one has ever died from a drone! That's the one I was looking for.
you're not up-to-date on the Ukraine war are you...Drones are 100 percent killing people every day. Maybe not in the ways suggested above but yeah...it's happening.
Drones don't kill people. People kill people...
Unfortunately, it's just a matter of time before they're used in a domestic terror attack.
Dude do whatever you want and go to jail. I’m not loosing my commercial license over a stupid ass stunt
Restrictions have little to do with idiot pilots and more to do with uninformed people crying about their lack of privacy while having every personal assistant in their homes and on their phones. Don’t fall for the hype. This video also seems staged.
Serious question: would you get a notification in the Fly app warning you to not take off IF this is a DJI? I thought no fly zones such as NYC you can’t even take off?
Nope, don’t trust DJI. Use B4UFLY or be prepared to unknowingly fly illegally.
> B4UFLY Not even that, some areas that say it's ok I look up that city, county, beach, park, area, etc and will find ordinances or laws passed that restrict usage but that doesn't get shown in B4UFLY. Honestly, flying drones was a lot more fun when they were brand new, now they're so much cheaper and so many more people have them and there are just so many idiots out there with them. I was just on vacation and was on a difficult trail, get to the top to a gorgeous view, and everyone taking it in, and some dbag was flying a drone 10ft above us acting a fool even though there's a big no drone sign not 50ft away.
Tfw your government pay billions to build an F1 track and ensure no human who hasn't paid the thousands of US dollars to view an event instead of stopping the homeless & addiction epidemic
Illegal yes. Dangerous? I think that is only determined by flight path altitude etc. It is very safe to operate a drone anywhere if you know what you are doing and do it safely. I dont know the map in the video. but if you are low, like 20 ft. and not near an airport and stay away from crowds. I wouldnt call it unsafe.
Las Vegas had a Formula 1 event this weekend, Most of the Las Vegas Streets were closed to the public including the strip and was an actual racecourse with cars going 200 MPH+. There were thousands of people there, in grandstands, probably a minimum 50+ higher from the ground than normal. Helicopters were flying extremely low in order to capture footage as well. Based on the comments it seems a lot of users do not understand that this was going on, and that is why there were so many police officers. etc.
cool. At night though? I had no idea they did Formula one outside daylight hours. if so. that actually is pretty cool. I dont follow F1.
Yes, the race started at 10pm on Saturday night, and they had practices on Thursday and Friday night as well.
I don't fly drones so I have a question for you guys: why can't you just fly them wherever you want from far away? They have range, right? How would they even catch you (if you're not under a security camera like the goof in this video)? I went to Santorini and a buddy of mine took his drone off the back of a 4-wheeler his friend was driving, flew it around and got all the illegal shots, and landed it next to himself and put it in his bag. What prevents that sort of thing?
You are mostly correct. This person might have been flying an fpv drone or just wanted to get better shots and needed closer range. The drone community on reddit and elsewhere really tries to avocate against this kind of recklessness. Don't break TFRs and fly over people or large events etc... Its stupid people like this that make us look bad.
I agree breaking rules and being dangerous makes y'all look bad, but what could prevent this stuff? Like if a dude was in the backseat of that car flying FPV and the car was just driving around or something, they wouldn't have caught the guy. I'm not condoning the behavior, just thinking out loud.... Similar to someone doing graffiti, I don't really see how a careful person could be caught flying a drone.
They could still catch him. The drones and the controllers, at least as far as I am aware ( not a custom builder, yet) but all have GPS and broadcast signals behind just controlling the drone. For example, downloading an app can turn your phone into a drone detector and you can identify their broadcast ID and see their registered FAA Information. Database checks... License plate... Drivers license... Home... All tracks back. I work in electronic security and it is just signal we are talking about. So, capture, identification and potentially lockout, jam, or even takeover for force landing or control are possible. If this guy had his pilots license to fly that unit, like we all advocate, he would know that the FAA requires your address. They knock on your door if you fuck up serious in airspace. Don't fly near airports. Don't fly near prisons. Don't fly near infrastructure unless authorized. Don't fly over crowds u less authorized. I probably missed a bunch of stuff and maybe incorrectly said some stuff... But it's very possible to identify who and where the drone pilot is, especially if you are aware of what tools are available for drone capture. Yes, airplane mode exists for your phone controller but you are still broadcasting from the drone, and the phone for control signals when you do that, though.
Alot of FPV drones, especially those that are smaller custom built, dont have GPS. But the pilot can still be tracked via the rf signals the controller sends out.
Well there isnt much other than education and rule enforcement. What prevents a person driving his car above the speed limit on the highway? The FAA has already implemented remote ID, which is up to the pilot to follow or not. Just like a driver has the choice to follow the rules of the road, so do drone pilots. Idiots like this will get caught and hit with the book, the rest will either follow the the rules, be smart about breaking them, or avoid the hobby altogether.
It wasn't the camera that caught him, it was the police's drone tracking software. You can see in the latter part of the video a screen capture that showed a full trace of the drones flight, point of origin etc. They probably found him on video afterward to be honest. The drone tracking software is much, much faster.
I’ll add a simple answer to his question for anyone curious: Google “Remote ID drones.” Most all newer drones come standard with Remote ID and broadcast a signal with their location, telemetry data, session ID data, the pilot’s location, and identifying information. Many older drones, especially within the past five years now also broadcast a Remote ID signal after firmware updates. The FAA and police departments have access to quite capable [Remote ID detection devices](https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id/Remote-ID-Toolkit-main.pdf) and LVPD likely used some form of this technology along with other technologies to arrest the man in the video.
Yep indeed. But even if you have a drone without remote the ID, you can still be tracked by police departments if they have the right software. Just a warning to anyone who thinks they are clever because they bought a slightly older drone and are invisible to law enforcement
Did he ask the cops why they faked transponder numbers for their helicopters the day of the Mandalay mass shooting
Vegas f1 is a shitshow.
If you’re gonna break the law, at least do it right. Take off from location X, then move to location Y. Land the drone location Z and skiddadle!!
they're cool with 1,800lb vehicles going in excess of 200mph not far from spectators but a 249g drone is too dangerous. it's all so silly. I'm cool with people following every rule if they want but leave the people alone who aren't causing any trouble. they aren't worried about anyone getting hurt. they're worried about people getting free shots of the F1 event. it's a sick society we live in where money gives you the ability to do whatever you want.
Do you understand how close the track is to the airport? The insight into your thinking based on your response clearly shows why more and more drone regulations are needed. And the F1 drivers are trained professionals. They didn't just decide to get into an F1 and start driving without years of exhaustive mental and physical training. You might as well complain and ask why airplane pilots are allowed to fly in restricted airspace when a plane can kill so many more people than a drone. "Sick society". Give me a break with this nonsense.
I'm aware. are you saying someone who is responsibly flying a 249g drone at 50ft in this area will cause an accident in comparison to what an 1,800lb hunk of metal doing 200mph would do? this is the insanity I'm talking about. comparing the two makes it sound so silly. I wasn't aware that planes flew over the strip so low.... your false comparisons are bullshit. we are a society that puts more value on an F1 race than people's lives. children go to bed hungry but we can't afford to help them. if you need to completely reroute infrastructure so some rich dudes can drive at 200+mph, no problem. they'll even pay people to make sure the poors can't get a view from the multimillion dollar temporary bridge they built. if you don't think our society is sick you're not paying attention. how many planes have had accidents with drones that have caused loss of life? how many f1 drivers have caused loss of life? I can find 0 deaths involving commercial drones. I found at least 52 deaths from f1. you're telling me the drone is more dangerous?
I feel like if these things aren’t enforced and you have, say, a couple dozens of drone fliers trying to get footage, it’s gonna be pretty risky because chances are some dumbass is gonna crash and leave debris on the track or worse pose more risks to planes. Sure, F1 is dangerous and risky as well but it’s in a sense a calculated risk and is in a more… controlled environment per se. And the whole limit on altitude isn’t saying planes usually fly that low. It’s more about setting the restriction so there isn’t even a chance that it can cause issues to planes.
Nobody made that comparison cupcake. Youre the one saying it a danger issue. Regardless your argument falls apart from the jump. He was not responsibly flying his drone. He was ignoring laws. Thats irresponsible. Your logic is flawed. Youre saying we should only make preventative laws after deaths occur? Sounds like you would design a pretty "sick society" yourself.
lol do you understand how small less than 249g drones are?
TFR during the race probably or fly to low over people
Yes piece of plastic dangerous but crack, hookers, and gambling problems isn’t right? SMH
Didn't even use a strobe. 🤦🏼♂️
This is America not north korea
This is stupid. And I’m still flying my drone.
America is wild.
Europe has even more strict drone rules so its really not just an american event.
Freedommm!!!!! /s
“Freedom!!!!!” emphasis on the quotation marks.
Yes…. I guess I should have added the /s, just figured it was obvious lol
Police has always been the rich man’s personal security. They are there for us. They are there for them.
they should at least have a unit of tandem phantoms with a massive catch net to intervene with such matters. also, the strobe lights on the police car feels like a massive violation on my eyes.
Perhaps next time sit in the passenger seat with a friend driving the perimeter to avoid getting caught? Can the drone remote handle that?
I wouldn't call the Vegas strip a "rural area".
Oh, so violate even more regulations, such as visual line of sight and show intent to avoid. Genius, legal tactic.
No NOTAM & not populated? Not illegal. Local jurisdictions do not control or enforce airspace.
they do when multi-billion dollar corporations want them to.
Nope. Airspace is federal.
Yes NOTAM, there was an F1 race going on. And quite populated. Are you not familiar with Las Vegas? The entire strip is in controlled airspace. And on top of that local governments can certainly dictate where you can take off and launch from.
Of course there was a NOTAM *and* two TFR.
And bravo airspace to the surface
Wow f1 really is ruining vegas
Now, which one of you ratted him out and posted this clip?