Blamed for a very illegal flight....but Innocent...hypothetical

[JKDSensei]

Today I called a nearby tower as usual and notified them of my intentions.
But this time, the controller asked for my name and phone number. (They haven't before)

So then I was thinking.....the tower has MY name and MY phone number and that I notified them I was going to be flying in their airspace. I would imagine they aren't getting very many of these calls (yet).

What if some irresponsible nut job flying a Phantom decided to do an airport flyover or enter the traffic pattern without any notification at all or even collided with a plane? I would think there's a chance that the first knee-jerk reaction might be to "assume" it was that guy who called a while ago. With my phone number it's easy for them to get my address.

If someone over-reacts and gives the authorities erroneous information, followed up by overzealous officers, it could make for a not so pleasant experience for me. Late night swatting for example....dog shot dead...

I hope the FAA thinks things out thoroughly. Chances are if someone called and gave them notification, then THAT person is probably following the rules and doing the best they can to keep the airspace safe.

But the thought did occur to me since at this time, the majority of new UAV owners probably still have no idea they need to notify the tower OR that it's illegal to fly in controlled airspace without following some procedures.

Something to think about?
YMMV

 

[DaveM]

Well, you'll have your flight logs, so if you can survive the swat team kicking your door down and they don't wreck your drone in the process, you should be ok after about 12 hours.

 

[cdronefly]

The FAA thinks things out well enough that the future drone you buy will identify itself so you won't have to worry about that rogue operator being mistaken for you.

 

[JKDSensei]

Well, you'll have your flight logs, so if you can survive the swat team kicking your door down and they don't wreck your drone in the process, you should be ok after about 12 hours.

Not when I'm flying my P1 or Syma UAV's

So what if there are no logs?

This is the point I'm trying to make.

 

[JKDSensei]

The FAA thinks things out well enough that the future drone you buy will identify itself so you won't have to worry about that rogue operator being mistaken for you.

Yes....future.
This is a concern for TODAY as the world is right now

 

[cdronefly]

Yes....future.
This is a concern for TODAY as the world is right now

As I understand it, the P3S has this tech built in...so we are not talking about a pie-in-the-sky deal.
Given logs, serial numbers and other stuff even existing technology is somewhat traceable.

Of course, all bets are off if the offending pilots have some homebuilt hacked machine without any of the checks and balances. But that's true with a lot of things.

 

[Othan1]

Some people worry way too much when they should be using that energy for simply doing what the paperwork says and leave the rest to deal with itself. Just have fun.

 

[snerd]

After they "get" you, someone on the forums says yeah, he was mouthing off about flying around an airport, bragging about it. You in a heap of trouble, boy!!

 

[JKDSensei]

After they "get" you, someone on the forums says yeah, he was mouthing off about flying around an airport, bragging about it. You in a heap of trouble, boy!!

You KNOW I'll tell them that it was all your idea now dontcha ???

 

[JKDSensei]

Some people worry way too much when they should be using that energy for simply doing what the paperwork says and leave the rest to deal with itself. Just have fun.

Will you let me worry in peace dag nabbit !!!
Why are folks always trying to take your worry away?!
I had so much fun I got bored with fun and now I wanna worry a bit.
when worry bores me a bit then I'll have some more fun...so don't worry if I worry, it's all in fun!

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

Well I'd say either stop worrying too or dont fly in their area.
Have a chat with someone high up in the tower (punn intended) and pose that theory to them. Give them your details and just assure them that you will ALWAYS call ahead and if something happens that it won't be you but yeah just get out there and fly and dont be worrying

 

[GoodnNuff]

Not when I'm flying my P1 or Syma UAV's

So what if there are no logs?

This is the point I'm trying to make.

If you're worried about your dog being shot dead, I would make sure I only use the drones I own that have logs when I fly in a sensitive area. Or do like I and others have and do a custom paint job on your non logging drones so they are quite distinct from others. My P1 is flat grey with dayglo orange, my 350QX is painted like a tree frog, etc. So if the FAA gets a call that a giant tree frog was spotted flying over the airport - that would be me, a white drone - not me.

 

[JKDSensei]

Well I'd say either stop worrying too or dont fly in their area.
Have a chat with someone high up in the tower (punn intended) and pose that theory to them. Give them your details and just assure them that you will ALWAYS call ahead and if something happens that it won't be you but yeah just get out there and fly and dont be worrying

Odds are...this won't happen to me specifically....I was just putting something out there that someone, somewhere might come up against. It was just the first time anyone asked for personally identifiable information and I was curious if that could be part of the beginning of a nationwide change in how towers handle calls like this about Model Aircraft. Probably not....but still curious.

 

[Timtro]

A FlyTrex "black box" might be one solution?

 

[JKDSensei]

Timtro..... Of course!
Or nearly any tracking device which can prove location.
Even an inexpensive GPS tracker set to send location at short intervals.
Every 30 seconds should do.

 

[witold]

Not when I'm flying my P1 or Syma UAV's

So what if there are no logs?

This is the point I'm trying to make.

Quads that crash into planes are unlikely to stay in one piece, unscathed. You show them the quad.

You are being paranoid if you think a SWAT team shows up, but if there is a plane crash because of a quad, you can most definitely expect FAA investigators to show up and talk to you - and all your neighbors and friends, too. Every plane crash is thoroughly investigated and all leads are exhausted and explained... Plane crashes are better investigated than most murder cases.

I hope the FAA thinks things out thoroughly.

FAA is a massive bureaucracy and they dot their i's and cross their t's to the extremes.

They are currently in the process of designing and testing Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and by the time the system is actually used, they will have spend about 40 Billion and 25 YEARS designing, testing and rolling out the new air traffic control system. There is no room for error and everything needs to be perfect. This is based on the public's expectations for air travel, and to maintain air travel as the safest form of travel on earth.

Same with quads. FAA is risk averse and isn't as trigger happy as a bunch of "progressive" tiny/developing countries that - with barely any research and investigation - magically came up with drone rules and regulations overnight. FAA has much higher standards. Rules don't just happen overnight. Things get grounded as the issue is investigated and studied and proposals are made. This is a multi-year process.