Newton Drone Owner Files Federal Lawsuit Against City

[Rogerc]

Regulations are sometimes needed, often they are not needed. If you have ever had to work with lawyers for cities, schools etc they are ridiculous. This is a case in point and I am glad he is taking this on. Drone hazards are way over stated.
I feel sorry for kids growing up today, so many restrictions on things I use to do as a kid and we wonder why they are all obese? It seem anything that get them off their video games and outdoors get regulated out of existence.

 

[Jeiel Shamblee]

I've read the suit and basically it looks like the town wants to do a few things.
1. They want everyone to register with them and pay a fee for doing so. There was nothing about the weight or size of an aircraft. So basically the ordinance says even a paper airplane would require the operator to register and pay a fee with the town.
2. Their ordinance restricts all flight because the way it is written makes their entire jurisdiction a NFZ. One could presumably get permission to fly, but it doesn't discuss how to do that.

Sunger had been using a drone to monitor the town dumping garbage where they shouldn't.

I'm guessing that the town didn't like him filming them. They probably got complaints they didn't know what to do about and decided to pass an ordinance to restrict any UAV/drone flights. It's understandable, but misguided and they overstepped their authority.

Their ordinance was poorly written and didn't take existing FAA regulations into account much. I will be watching to see how this turns out.

 

[NRJ]

Haven't these local yokel bureaucrats ever heard of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution? Get your popcorn out!


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

It's usually the local yokels who try to ruin it for everyone. It's usually they who are doing wrong and don't want to be accidentally filmed while they embark in doing wrong.

 

[daveisim]

After traipsing nilly willy through various new stories, I found the actual regulation they passed.

http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/79699

They keep referring to "pilotless" aircraft with their own definition of "an unmanned, powered aerial vehicle, weighing less than 55 pounds, that is operated without direct human contact from within or on the aircraft."

My Goodness! Windup rubber band balsa wood models would fall in this category. So would C/L models. R/C gliders would not.


They go on to erroneously say:

In general, the FAA is concerned with protecting public safety, and focuses its regulations on aircraft that operate above 400 feet and that share the airspace with airplanes and helicopters, and the FAA allows cities and towns to regulate pilotless aircraft that fly below 400 feet.

The City of Newton ordinance only regulates pilotless aircraft that fly under 400 feet, in the airspace that the FAA permits cities and towns to oversee.

Naaaaaa. Wrong.

They misconstrue answers in the section of "What is a Federal No Fly Zone?"

I sure hope the fellow filing suit gets this taken care of or the FAA steps in to tell them about who has jurisdiction.

 

[jwara]

Would one of you local legal-eagles find the Brookline ordinance? Haven't been able to locate it. Another 'city-state' action. Jim

 

[newtondrones]

Watch City of Newton employees fly a drone over City Hall in violation of the ordinance. The guy at the controls is the city's chief information officer.

 

[jwara]

Watch City of Newton employees fly a drone over City Hall in violation of the ordinance. The guy at the controls is the city's chief information officer.

Looking at this from W Roxbury. You Newton guys have to remember to clear with the Channel 5 heliport. Jim

 

[Rotax Rick]

You have to trust me on this. After living in a motorhome 10 months out of a year on the road doing Helicopter rides & meeting with the FAA every time someone called in about a noise complaint. Doing a $10 2 1/2 minute ride going over someones house at 300 feet every 3 minutes I saw them a lot. Being a commercial Pilot for 40 years I know the laws. NO BODY BUT THE FAA CAN REGULATE THE AIRSPACE. The local Government can control what takes off & lands in there jurisdiction. They can even band Private Wealthy home owners from flying there private helicopters off there own property.

 

[Rotax Rick]

FAA NO FLY ZONES There are temporary NFZ's , Say the president is coming in to a Airport, ( I want to say that is a 30 mile no fly zone) a large brush fires , even a stadium Ball game. ( 3000 feet altitude & 3 miles , some large State Fairs from opening to closing ) Then there are permeant NFZ's ,Military bases, High altitude tethered balloons & areas they don't want anyone to see anything. The NFZ's may be from surface to say 7500 feet. It can also be from 3000 feet to 10,000 feet. ( Jet Training) BUT there are no NFZ's over a town because the town does not want ANYTHING flying over it.