Woman finds a man flying a drone outside her home. Is it legal?

Privacy a looming issue as drone regulation loosens

ATLANTA—Earlier this month, a woman in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle noticed a small camera-equipped drone buzzing around outside the third-floor window of her home. She sent her husband out to tell the man operating the small aircraft by remote control to leave, but he insisted that it was legal for him to fly above their property. “We are extremely concerned, as he could very easily be a criminal who plans to break into our house or a peeping-tom,” the woman complained in a note to a local blog. So was the drone operator right when he insisted that it was legal for him to fly above this woman’s yard?

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I had to ask myself, "What would I do if I found a drone hovering outside a window of my home?"
Short answer, Slingshot+Steel Ball Bearing=One Dead Drone

Is this really legal?
Well, it's kind of a gray area right now, with no right or wrong answer. I find this very upsetting.

What do you, fellow ATSers think?
What would you do in this situation?
Where do you think the line on privacy should be drawn?

"In other news, a local man was found dead with a remote control in his mouth and a small airplane up his rectum."

That's how I'd handle that situation.

reply to post by mikemck1976


Slingshot and a ball bearing? Man you must be one deadly accurate shot with that thing!!

I probably couldn't hit one of those with a 50 cal sniper rifle!

Better watch out with the sling shot. Might find yourself held indefinitely without charges... Maybe go after it with a high powered water hose or a throw net thats used for fishing. My question is, if you down a drone on your own property, does it still belong to the creep that was buzzing around on your property?

It's amazing, but I would bet there are laws that prohibit someone video recording on your own land. You can cut a neighbours tree if it hangs over your fence, so theoretically your property does include that above the ground...

reply to post by mikemck1976
Not legal. If you own property you own the air space as well. The man did not have the right to fly his little spy drone in air space within anyone's privately owned property boundaries. There have even been court cases won against the FAA for infringing on the peace and privacy rights of private property owners for allowing airplanes to fly at too low an altitude over private property.

Originally posted by Chrisfishenstein
reply to post by mikemck1976

 

Slingshot and a ball bearing? Man you must be one deadly accurate shot with that thing!!

I probably couldn't hit one of those with a 50 cal sniper rifle!

Not bragging but....
Yes I am..

As a cop explained to me very clearly ....for the benefit of a neighbor who could't grasp simple concepts. The human eye cannot trespass. The idea there being, if it's something you can SEE from the vantage of public property? It's something you can generally film too. My situation was recording 24/7, every single thing a neighbor did, without let up, by filming the front of his house in High Res in as obnoxious a way as I could. Months of provoking us brought that solution. It worked too..in less than 10 days. lol...

Anyway...By the legal concept explained during that? This seems patently illegal to me. The drone is getting to and seeing things a normal person cannot from common, public property like a sidewalk or street. It's no different than a peeping tom climbing a tree. You can see the bedroom through the window, perhaps, but you cannot see the person INSIDE it without taking those extra measures....and breaking laws, IMO.

reply to post by mikemck1976

Woman finds a man flying a drone outside her home. Is it legal?

What's the difference between a drone and a RC hobby airplane equipped with a small camera?

Nothing... except intent.

Will remotely controlled hobby craft will be outlawed?

Unfortunately, as far as I know there aren't any laws saying it is "illegal" for a private citizen to fly a drone over another private citizen property.

But don't worry folks, its going to take someone to become a victim of a home invasion, kidnap, rape and murder because there isn't anything written into law (yet).

Again here we go..I'm just waiting for some domestic terrorist or criminal to get his hand on one and put it to work. We will see a game changer if they're smart enough.

Originally posted by littled16
reply to post by mikemck1976

 

Not legal. If you own property you own the air space as well. The man did not have the right to fly his little spy drone in air space within anyone's privately owned property boundaries. There have even been court cases won against the FAA for infringing on the peace and privacy rights of private property owners for allowing airplanes to fly at too low an altitude over private property.

How high in the air? Can I sue an airliner for flying over my property? (air space).....

Or a helicopter for that matter?

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


If it were right outside your window, a 50 cal sniper rifle would be a very poor choice, indeed.
I'd use a handgun.

Either that or a yard stick.

Originally posted by redoubt
reply to post by mikemck1976

 

Woman finds a man flying a drone outside her home. Is it legal?

What's the difference between a drone and a RC hobby airplane equipped with a small camera?

Nothing... except intent.

Will remotely controlled hobby craft will be outlawed?

I was hoping someone would bring that up.
I fly RC Helicopters, and its great fun, and an INNOCENT hobby. But I also fly them with camera's on board, not for spying, just to see what everything looks like from a birds eye view. One of the camera's feeds directly to my pc or laptop and I can fly while watching the screen. But that does not mean I am intentionally spying on people.

About owning the space above your home. If someone was spying on you they would not be above your home, they'd need to be some way off to get a view through windows etc.

reply to post by VoidHawk


Earlier this month, a woman in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle noticed a small camera-equipped drone buzzing around outside the third-floor WINDOW.

ETA: I don't think air rights make a damn bit of difference when it's right outside your window.

Depending on where you live there would be several things you can do.

First, garden hose. It may or may not knock it out of the sky.
Second, call police and accuse the operator of being a peeping Tom.
Third, practice skeet shooting.

Birdshot or rock salt should take care of it.....and would also work on the drone, too.

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein
Wiki Air RIghts

Unless you waive your rights it's 500 feet from the tallest structure. So unless he's landing or taking off, the RC has to be pretty high to not be trespassing.

Originally posted by TokiTheDestroyer
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Earlier this month, a woman in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle noticed a small camera-equipped drone buzzing around outside the third-floor WINDOW.

ETA: I don't think air rights make a damn bit of difference when it's right outside your window.

edit on 5/30/13 by TokiTheDestroyer because: (no reason given)

Suppose I live across the street from you and my window faces yours, will you be sending a bullet through it? because i'd see a lot more from my window than any drone would.

How does this women even know the camera was pointed at her?
How does she know if it was even switched on?

Innocent until proven guilty?

The family just needs a Jewish lawyer...and they'll OWN the neighbors house.

The LAW is a matter of how much money you have to spend for a lawyer.

reply to post by VoidHawk


Outside from the fact that living across the way from me is a totally different thing than flying a drone with a camera right outside my window, nothing I suppose.

Originally posted by TokiTheDestroyer
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Outside from the fact that living across the way from me is a totally different thing than flying a drone with a camera right outside my window, nothing I suppose.

I've flown my copters in my back yard with camera's attached, and half a dozen residents COULD have accused me of spying on them. But I wasn't, the cams weren't even switched on. And nobody accused me of spying on them!

People just hate to see others having fun, don't they.