A French teenager has been arrested and charged with "endangering the lives of others" after flying a UAV and camera over the city of Nancy.
The French daily newspaper 'Le Figaro' has run the story with a photo of a Phantom at the head of the article. I have no idea whether the student was flying a Phantom or not.
I've now found a French newspaper from Nancy with what seemed to be a reasonable telling of the story. I've translated it below
"The court of Nancy is prosecuting a young man because he filmed the city with a drone and posted a video on the Internet. After 400,000 views the authorities finally took an interest and the teenager has now been charged with "endangering the lives of others ."
Thomas Nans, aged 18 from Nancy, is being prosecuted for having made a video from the air of the old town. The young man, still in high school, is nicknamed by some "a teen-entrepreneur " because he has already created two companies: one in the communications business, the other in the rental of cameras and drones.
In late January, under a cloudless blue sky, he equipped one of his drones with a camera and filmed breathtaking images of the old town and the famous Place Stanislas from a new angle, keeping close to the buildings' beautiful facades. When he posted the video it became very popular, gaining 400,000 views in two weeks. It was a great stunt for the young entrepreneur, but his joy was short-lived.
Rumor has it that it was a jealous competitor who alerted the authorities. Thomas fell foul of the Directorate of Civil Aviation and also, last Monday, by police who summoned him because the young man was in breach of the decrees governing the use of unmanned aircraft which were issued in 2012 . Users of such craft must undergo training similar to those of aircraft pilots and must get a special authorization if they wish to fly a drone over urban space. Finally, the camera is also a problem with respect to privacy laws.
Hans says he did not realize that what he was doing was illegal. He will appear in court in the coming months charged with "endangering the lives of others." This is a first in France and something that will obviously set a precedent. More and more individuals are equipping drones with cameras. They were one of the best Christmas sales. Very often young users are unaware of the risk of a crashes... and the law."
The French daily newspaper 'Le Figaro' has run the story with a photo of a Phantom at the head of the article. I have no idea whether the student was flying a Phantom or not.
I've now found a French newspaper from Nancy with what seemed to be a reasonable telling of the story. I've translated it below
"The court of Nancy is prosecuting a young man because he filmed the city with a drone and posted a video on the Internet. After 400,000 views the authorities finally took an interest and the teenager has now been charged with "endangering the lives of others ."
Thomas Nans, aged 18 from Nancy, is being prosecuted for having made a video from the air of the old town. The young man, still in high school, is nicknamed by some "a teen-entrepreneur " because he has already created two companies: one in the communications business, the other in the rental of cameras and drones.
In late January, under a cloudless blue sky, he equipped one of his drones with a camera and filmed breathtaking images of the old town and the famous Place Stanislas from a new angle, keeping close to the buildings' beautiful facades. When he posted the video it became very popular, gaining 400,000 views in two weeks. It was a great stunt for the young entrepreneur, but his joy was short-lived.
Rumor has it that it was a jealous competitor who alerted the authorities. Thomas fell foul of the Directorate of Civil Aviation and also, last Monday, by police who summoned him because the young man was in breach of the decrees governing the use of unmanned aircraft which were issued in 2012 . Users of such craft must undergo training similar to those of aircraft pilots and must get a special authorization if they wish to fly a drone over urban space. Finally, the camera is also a problem with respect to privacy laws.
Hans says he did not realize that what he was doing was illegal. He will appear in court in the coming months charged with "endangering the lives of others." This is a first in France and something that will obviously set a precedent. More and more individuals are equipping drones with cameras. They were one of the best Christmas sales. Very often young users are unaware of the risk of a crashes... and the law."