Whose sky is it anyway? U.S. drone case tests rights to air space

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It's about time! See the entire story at the source listed...

When a small town American roofer took legal action against a neighbor for shooting down his drone, the local dispute sparked a case that could help shape the newest frontier of property rights law – who owns the air.

Drone owner David Boggs filed a claim for declaratory judgment and damages in the Federal Court after his neighbor William Merideth from Hillview in the southern state of Kentucky blasted his $1,800 drone with a shotgun in July last year.

Boggs argued to the District Court in Kentucky that the action was not justified as the drone was not trespassing nor invading anyone's privacy, while Merideth - who dubs himself the "drone slayer" - said it was over his garden and his daughter.

After a year of counter argument, a decision on which court jurisdiction should hear the complaint is expected within weeks and this could set new precedents for U.S. law.


SOURCE: Whose sky is it anyway? U.S. drone case tests rights to air space
 
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You can say "Love the Police" here, no problem.
 
This will be a case to watch VERY closely.... this could have a HUGE impact on all of us across this great land of ours.
 
Discharging your weapon into the air? I don't see them overturning that one. Laws don't say it's OK if something is up there, it's just "no discharging firearm into sky" (sometimes it's "...in the city" but still)

Next, the judge also dismissed a wanton endangerment charge for when the drone owner went to get it back and the drone slayer pointed a shotgun at him. DS claims it was his daughter being "invaded" as his primary concern.

The judge that dismissed is a woman. I have this, just all it a "gut feeling" that she had more sympathy over the idea that this was a drone at 20 feet above the virgin girl with a dirty, drooling drone pilot invading her privates. Just a gut feeling...

Agreed: Need for privacy. However, make it a law and have the police enforce it. Making an exception to the law to allow citizens to fire their guns into the air to take down drones they think are illegally trespassing? Could give rise to a kind of vigilantism, and are they trained to determine trespass vs innocently crossing an invisible border line. And, back to my original comment; Allowing a firearm to be discharged into the air? And when it misses and the bullet comes down and strikes another totally innocent neighbors equally innocent daughter a mile away?
 
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Be interesting to see what the memory card contained as it may decide the outcome

I feel like, even if the memory card did show the drone flier as doing something wrong. Yes, apply the law/rules to the pilot and punish him according to the law. BUT it's never OK for another citizen to be judge and jury and "executioner." IMHO
 
Be interesting to see what the memory card contained as it may decide the outcome

Agreed, I wonder if they'll subpoena the footage.
When I'm out flying and have people walk up and ask me questions. I always try to explain the different between the two types of drone pilots.
Careless and the Careful. Either if your out to have fun, or turning it into a side business. There is more enough sky to go around, we all just have to be responsible.
 
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Agreed, I wonder if they'll subpoena the footage.
When I'm out flying and have people walk up and ask me questions. I always try to explain the different between the two types of drone pilots.
Careless and the Careful. Either if your out to have fun, or turning it into a side business. There is more enough sky to go around, we all just have to be responsible.
So anyone try to have fun is careless? Nice one. Just ruined the hobby.
 
if a helicopter ia 100 feet over your house is it okay to shoot it down no same as a drone airspace is free zone
 

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