RCU Forums - View Single Post - FAA fine against drone photographer dismissed.
Old 05-28-2014, 04:59 AM
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Sport_Pilot
 
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Doc, the FAA is lying and they know it. The NTSB judge ruled and I see no way the FAA can win on that. They are just trying to discourage a large jump in drone usage. They have no jurisdiction under the navigable airspace and though the judge did not use it in his ruling, he did not discount that fact either.

The FAA knows that many would not go to court over a fine that would be less than the court and lawyer fee's, that is why the fines dropped by a tenth over what they were before this case.

As I see it the FAA is supporting the commercial interests of full scale aircraft as the smaller drones will take business away from them. The industry they are refering too are most likely AOPA and other full scale groups, not the AMA. They may also be supported from higher up and other agencies because they are worried about drones being used by terrorists.