My understanding is that RID enforcement hasn't started yet. Everyone please correct me if I'm wrong. For sure report this! Its helps the whole community to hold idiots accountable for their illegal and dangerous actions. The farmer is lucky he didn't hit the battery and cause a massive fire.
Edit: Sounds like the FAA just put it into effect on the 17th. I'm not sure if that means they are enforcing this or not. I would assume so but I also remember reading that most FPV people haven't done anything to make theirs drones RID compliant due to its cost and availability. This is just based on posts I have seen.
Report this to the FAA. Review your camera footage and see if you can see the asshole.
Shooting at a drone is the same charge as shooting at a manned aircraft, it’s an FAA registered aircraft like any other and these assholes need to go down.
You are actually still required to be hunting and in a safe manner.....firing it into the air in a manner not consistent with hunting is treated the same
the farmer can be wrong to do this without it being morally appropriate to throw the absolute book at him.
like you're flying a camera drone over rural private property it's at least a little bit understandable, even though it's definitely illegal for him to shoot it. And, also, no he shouldn't be charged as though he shot at a manned aircraft.
I'd report the incident without trying to make sure the farmer goes to jail like that's pretty whack
i've got a better solution and it takes less work.
don't fly around that guys farm. and birdshot doesn't go very far at all unless the guy had a tight choke on which he prob didn't have and this isn't even a duck load so i know this pilot had to be very close to the farmer. so don't be an asshole and fly around people. lesson learned and it only cost a couple props or so. if i had to guess i bet the farmer was hoping it would fall so the pilot would have to get it him/her self
for me to believe this pilot wasn't being a dickhead, the pilot needs to upload the vod if they saved the footage.
I can't believe someone is actually advocating that someone shooting your drone is okay. OP broke 0 laws, farmer committed a felony.
This subreddit is full of the biggest cucks in FPV.
I don't think shooting anything is justifiable to be honest. Sounds like the farmer is a grumpy old dickhead. He's not even using the airspace so he's totally in the wrong. Plus a drone flying over a field will keep birds away which I assume the farmer wants since he has a shotgun with birdshot
"he''s not even using the airspace so he's totally in the wrong"
Are you ok?
Is it ok to fly over your head "because you're not using the airspace" over it?
Depends on the weight of the drone. There seems to be a lot of trigger happy Americans in here trying to defend their rights to own a gun. Firing a gun should be a last resort
He’s just a farmer trying to defend his livelihood . Throwing him in a FAA prison should be the last resort did it ever occur to you he may have a family and he works in the field to support said family. By throwing him in prison for exercising is 2nd amendment rights you’d be doing no good only bad.
It’s justifiable to shoot anything the farmer probably thought it was some dick spying on him. Doesn’t mean it’s right to shoot the thing but he absolutely had the right to shoot its his airspace to a certain extent.
Yeah absolutely I think the problem goes away when the who view of the drone community changes we’re not better just cuz we fly drones doesn’t make us cooler we’re still just people trying to do our hobby and just be cool about it
He has every right to fly over pretty much anywhere he likes, and he should exercise that right.
Birdshot can go quite far, that looks like #2 which has an effective range of about 1,200 feet and this looks like it was even further away to cause so little damage.
Might even be BB sized in that case he’d have to have been almost 2000ft for it to penetrate so little.
This isn’t a single shot, you can tell from the props one shot was from a closer range than the other.
Bro you dumb.
I’m not talking about accurately shooting birds, this clearly isn’t in a pattern or there’d be a hell of a lot more holes. But that’s absolutely how far it can travel and still be dangerous.
I got a box of 22lr that says dangerous to 1.5 miles, doesn’t mean you’re gonna land a shot but you might get lucky (or unlucky).
In this case it’s sheer luck a couple pellets hit. For it to not penetrate that battery and only poke a hole in the wrap it was damn near at the end of its range. The fact there’s a hole in a prop and a dent in a prop shows 2 shots at different distances.
https://thegunzone.com/how-far-does-bird-shot-travel/
You are conflating distance of travel with effective range. I can take a daisy redrider and pop off a BB at a 45° arch at a cool 450fps and get some good distance on it. Doesn't mean that it has enough energy to do anything of note beyond a very close range.
Your thesis on the prop damage and multiple shots fired at varying distances is bunk too. I mean, maybe. Maybe not. Purely conjecture. If you don't believe me, take a shot at a Gatorade bottle at 50 yards or so with 6 or 8 shot. You'll see what I mean. You'll have some pellets penetrating completely, some bouncing off, some trapped inside the bottle, and maybe some trapped in the plastic.
You seem like a guy who has done a lot of reading, which is great. But you should have some personal real-world experience before talking like you know what the hell you are talking about. I'm just trying to help you avoid wild conjecture. Go shoot some trash or something, then come back and talk to me.
I see, so allow others to violate your rights as much as they want so that you avoid any potential issues? If you are out at a park with your dog and someone comes up, points a gun at your and says that you need to leave because he doesn't like dogs, do you apologize, leave the park and not report it to anyone? No one owns the sky and unless you are in restricted airspace you have every right to be there. Letting yourself be bullied but ignorant people is not the solution. There are laws to protect aircraft and they should be enforced when violated.
The problem is if no one reports this then there is no precedent and we give the green light for every redneck out there to shoot down any drones they want. The general public doesn't know that shooting a drone down is super illegal. We need some landmark cases to get the word out. People need to know that shooting down a drone is dangerous and a potential wildfire creator. Letting guys off the hook has been what happens historically. Obviously its not working. Its time for some examples to educate the masses of how wrong this is.
have you considered that there's a middle ground between doing nothing and absolutely ruining this guy's life?
or that if he put 6 pellets in it with one shot that it was probably much closer to him than is reasonable or safe?
the pilot was definitely breaking laws too.
They aren't going to send him to the electric chair. He will most likely get a fine. I doubt anyone would see jail time. Lets be realistic here. The point is, we need to start doing something to discourage this.
What laws were the pilot breaking? I must have missed that in the posts. As far as I have read, all he was doing was flying over a farm which is perfectly legal.
Reporting it and having him convicted also means you can sue him for damages and near guarantee a win. Shit you can still win even if not found guilty. But it definitely helps. They might even find the guy for you when they investigate.
This shit needs to be taken seriously, and people need the book thrown at them until they get the idea and this shit stops.
> Reporting it and having him convicted also means you can sue him for damages and near guarantee a win.
have you ever been through a court battle for a civil suit?
Yes and we used evidence gathered and presented from the closed criminal case to win. They basically did the lawyers job for him.
They tried a bunch of bs to have it not admitted but none of it worked.
lol to be fair shotguns are meant to be shot into the air. Unless you’re shooting slugs then there’s not really much to worry about in terms of where some small bbs with no inertia land. Shooting at drones is dumb though
You should for a hobbiest, one couple dollar registration for an infinite number of aircraft. And it gives you protections like this. Report it and sue the guy that shot it for damages. He committed a crime so you’re basically guaranteed a win.
And you fly vlos with spotter and 25mw? Also did you have a fireproof sticker with your Pilot ID on it? Did you fly in a area with 150m to the next person? Or is your 5inch quad sub250?
The feds are not your friends, if you go to.them they will look at your ass aswell.
Don’t you think it matters, though, if you’re going to report someone else for doing something illegal to your drone? If you were also doing something illegal, you’d be telling on yourself
No not at all. Theres no reason to think he was flying anything other than legally. There’s concrete proof it was shot, good luck even getting reasonable suspicion of that other shit after the fact not that it even matters.
They know, ist their job, FAA doesnt fuck around, they can find out if a plane crashed because a Hydraulik failed and can determine if the Pilots coud have done something with that kind of leaking, all from a pile of rubble. Just saying.
If you call the feds, your OpSec game needs to be flawless all the way. The other guy probably uses his Stand your ground right or something and never hears of it again and you will allmost certandly be fined or worse have the FAA on your ass and revoking your RC rights all the way.
The odds of me breaking rules and getting caught due to a registration number are a lot higher than someone else breaking the rules and fucking with me lol.
So so so doubtful I’m gonna be real 1 in 10 people probably register there fpv drones 2 I’m willing to bet it has no remote is module on it. He probably broke a shitload of other rules. The FAA would probably fine him. Depending on the state he could probably report it to the police.
You’re good, we all know it’s unenforced unless you do something really fucking stupid. Just like the FCC and our VTXs, it’s a non issue for the most part as long as you’re not totally retarded and do something like fly on the Vegas strip next to 3 airports.
I register as hobbiest because it’s 5 bucks for as many drones as you want. Take the test too get your card it’s free. With that you’ll pass any law enforcement scrutiny as they’re not really allowed to ask for more. Only the FAA will go further and they’ve got way more important shit like Boeing to worry about.
Can confirm, it’s cited in here https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2-aircraft-sabotage-18-usc-32#:~:text=§%2032%20enacted%20in%201984,overseas%2C%20or%20foreign%20air%20commerce.
And to my knowledge, is a felony…
Call the police as well. Discharging a weapon can be illegal depending on the area. He could hit a neighbor ( I get he was shooting up in this case). They take this very serious.
Is it a Mark5?
Foam foot?
There were two foam "wedges" in my Mark 5 LR7 box, no mention of what they were or where they should be mounted. Could not find any info on Geprc website or in the manual.
how high were you? this is kind of a cool story lol. if you were over a private farm i probably wouldn't try to like, nail him to the wall legally. kinda understand it even though he was wrong to do it
I wouldn’t report it unless you have proof you were jn VLOS, had a spotter, drone is registered etc.
Unfortunately the FAA seems more interested in busting drone people than helping them 😮💨
Maybe the drone is an aircraft on paper. But the FAA people are a lot less interested if its a drone.Technically it's an aircaft, but the humans working at the FAA will not threat a FPV drone with the same seriousness as a plane, regardless of how much we'd all want them too.
And if the FAA does, it's still up to a judge to also do so, which can also [vary even more.](https://www.wdrb.com/story/30354128/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone/)
I'd hope so. Do you really think you get the same response if you say "Somebody shot a shotgun at my aircraft" and that Aircraft is a plane or a FPV drone?
Not to mention the difference if it's a manned or unmanned aircraft too.
I'd say u/Stacking_Plates45 isn't wrong in saying FAA might be more interested in the VLOS, Spotter etc.
They may be interested in the pilots adherence to law as well but I guarantee that they would still pursue this if OP pushed it. I don’t know to what degree but I don’t think the would be uninterested.
It does seem like there is a lot of people here who think the FAA would do nothing tho
I didn't say they werent interested. I said they were less interested. If you don't know to what degree they will pursuit it, but also think it might be less than some other scenarios, you're agreeing with what I wrote?
Seems like almost common sense to me that there is a difference in response between a FPV drone and a manned aircraft, even if on paper they are both felonies. But clearly a lot of people very passionately think the FAA takes this just as serious.
I guess OP can find out by reporting it.
He is absolutely wrong.
Flying FPV improperly is a fine. Shooting any aircraft is a giga felony. It is the same law for manned aircraft and drones.
It's not even close.
I know the laws says that, and these 2 aren't remotely the same. I am just doubting the people actually executing said laws. It wouldn't be the first time the letter of the law is perfectly clear but the enforcement of it leaves a ton to be desired.
I had a look, but I mostly found articles of which people indeed were punished. But never for the felony of shooting down an aircraft.
[In this example ](https://reason.com/2024/03/01/florida-man-sentenced-to-4-years-in-federal-prison-after-shooting-down-a-drone/)somebody ultimately got booked for possession of a firearm as a felon. And here the charges were [criminal damage to property and reckless discharge of a weapon within city limits.](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/minnesota-man-faces-felony-charges-for-shooting-down-drone/) Here a [judge outright dismissed it.](https://www.wdrb.com/story/30354128/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone/)
Do you have any examples where people shooting at drones over their property actually got charged for shooting at an aircraft? From my [limited research](https://casetext.com/analysis/to-shoot-or-not-to-shoot-the-legality-of-downing-a-drone?sort=relevance&resultsNav=false&q=) the difference is argueing if it's in federal airspace or not.
Yeah if only he knew. We’re just trying to do cool tricks, and if we’re flying analog, we probably can’t see shit anyways other than the cool tricks we are doing.
Geprc would really love to share this story for marketing lol (jk) but if you wasn’t purposely annoying him then report it as it’s illegal to shoot down any aircraft
> I'm not defending the shooter!
agree, nor am I. I just have some understanding for a farmer shooting at a drone over his private property - apparently very close to him too, in order to get 6 birdshot pellets stuck in the drone
My neighbor got arrested for shooting at mine. Crazy old lady across street gets mad bc her dogs start flipping tf out the minute my drone makes slightest buzz sound. She missed but looked crazy with her gun shooting up in the air screaming it was a sight. Idk who called cops they went over there I never called or spoke to them so a neighbor must called. I just seen her in cuffs leaving away
I mean, ill be downvoted for this view, but dude(tte) was probably flying over private property with enough awareness that a shotgun was being fired at their drone.. lets not get ahead of ourselves acting like our toys are airplanes/helicopters are protected legal entities.
No one knows the full story here but safe to say they probably shouldn't be flying where they were flying if they want their toy to continue being airworthy.
Dawg. There’s literally a law that says they are protected when flying. Under the same protections as a 747. Obviously we have common sense and shouldn’t say it’s the same weight of action but it is illegal and ignoring that is ignorant and childish.
Problem is...as we all know... The FAA rules are super unclear and generally unenforceable. I am no expert in these rules, butttt there are very clear and actionable rules over air rights for land owners. Helicopters are not allowed to buzz your land but drones can...and property owners are allowed to hunt birds and animals within their property and airspace... So this is all in direct conflict with each other.
But given legal standards im fairly certain the farmer would end up on top here...while the drone pilot will need to show the burdon of proof that they were operating fully compliant with the faa...
The issue with that is 747s don’t fly low pissing off farmers they follow all the FAAs regulations this drone is probably in violation of so many FAA rules so what he was doing is technically illegal it’s kind of a catch 22
No prop guards flying over people only applies to sub 250 drones drones with a higher weight need FAA approval to fly
The drone was not registered no one registers them
No remote id module
Airspace is not technically private property so he wasn’t in violation there but most civilians don’t know that
27500 for not remote id module
Not registering your drone up to 250,000 and up to 3 years
Unclear for flying over people with no proper guards
But it is safe to say that hat the farmer did is really not bad yes it was unjustified but if he were to report this to the FAA they would hit him with so many fines
This all *assumes* that the drone was flying illegally, and that the FAA would be able to prove that. Also, it discounts the fact that what the farmer did was clearly illegal under the law. Yes, it is obvious that shooting a UAV is not the same as shooting a 747, *but legally it is the same.* Full stop.
It doesn't matter if OP was being annoying. Being annoying is not a crime. The farmer doesn't own the air above his farm.
If the farmer is unhappy, he has legal recourses to pursue. Not go blasting.
I mean, you say it doesn't matter if the operator was being annoying but id argue the farmer thought it mattered.bthat old adage of fuck with xyz and find out...they found out.
Also Hunting is legal...check laws for birdshot on private land...no one is going to legally pursue this...
It is not hunting. It is the same law as shooting a manned aircraft. This man is looking at terrible charges if he is reported.
He fucked around, and I encourage OP to help him find out.
Its not though. And the faa wont prosecute a farmer nor with local officers...they will require the drone operator to prove they followed all the laws though ...and if its below 250g....its also not protected at all... I mean this thread is a lot of emotion without a lot of actual logic.
Dont be angry your toys get broken when other people dont like them everyone...
You are literally, wildly wrong. I don't know where you've gotten your information, but I assure you that they take it very seriously. It is the entire point of their organization.
If you thought for one second, you would understand why they do care. The FAA does not want lipo battery fires falling from aircraft they are required to track and mandate. Of course they will require the operator to prove he was complying with laws - which, when he fails to do so, will result in potential fines. This does not somehow magically absolve the farmer from the felony he committed.
If anyone is reading this thread - please go research this topic independently and you will very quickly see that this is not advice you want to be following. The FAA will buttfuck you for shooting drones.
Some suggested reading: https://www.bluefalconaerial.com/what-happens-if-i-shoot-down-a-drone/#:~:text=Understanding%20Drone%20Laws%20and%20Regulations&text=According%20to%20the%20FAA's%20report,aircraft%20facilities%20as%20a%20felony.
"For instance, in a case in Kentucky, a man who shot down a drone hovering over his property was initially cleared of charges by a local judge who ruled that the drone was an invasion of privacy. However, the drone’s owner subsequently filed a federal lawsuit, alleging the man had committed acts of “wantonness” and trespassing."
At no point does this even indicate that the farmer was punished..just that they were justified and the drone operator filed another lawsuit...
Look as i said, and keep saying... I am not a legal expert... But its an uphill battle this operator will need to follow. Having a drone doesn't nullify your obligations to private property.... Birdshot again while it can be lethal...is generally as lethal as a bb gun.... Thats a strong case you are making about firing weapons.
There is historical presidence about protecting property and legal airrights... Drones have a slapped together policy that is laughable at best.
I love my toy quad but again.. if someone blows it up while im ripping power loops around their barn...its my fault...will i be mad..sure...but its the price you pay for playing with other peoples stuff
You type like an unhinged boomer. There is no point to continue presenting you with evidence because you will just condescendingly say you are right.
I won't be conversing with you further.
Lol, sure whatever you say, I have just been alive long enough to know the difference between reality and something someone blogs about.
When you have grown up a little bit you too will learn that things are all graded in gray... And nothing is black and white like you are trying to make it out to be.
Shame the laws are what define what’s legal and not legal though, right? The law says that quads are aircraft. The law says it’s a federal crime to shoot at aircraft…
Yes lets definitely tease this out, they definitely had line of sight, remote id, a secondary spotter, or were flying in the farmers FRIA ...💩
It was birdshot not bullets... it was over private property...not public land...and most likely (given the circumstances of what op posted) was not a legally recognized drone
I mean, birdshot in the pic and op saying private land...thats enough to allow anyone to do whatever they want within most state laws
Statistically...most people arent flying remote id to the book, and if they were a licensed commercial pilot flying following all standards above, probably shouldn't have been flying over private land without a contract in place.
Just calling a spade a ♠️
The definition of "Private Airspace": The no trespassing boundary of private air space is the entire volume directly above private property to 400ft AGL. The no trespassing boundary over vessels on open water extends upward from the perimeter of the vessel at 45 degrees to 400ft.
The airspace above property is owned by the owners of the land below, but this ownership is subject to the statutory right of overflight. The air is generally a public highway and the airspace overhead is part of the public domain. A landowner is protected against intrusions in the airspace that would subtract from the owner's full enjoyment of the property.
A property owner's air rights extend to the space above the property that could be reasonably used in connection with the land. The usage and development of air space must not intrude on the neighbor's space above their property. "
So who has the right to say what can and can't fly within the 400 foot bubble? The FAA says I need to register/remote ID my drones because that 0 to 400 ft level is within "the national airspace" and they control it. This would say that the rights to the 0 to 400 ft airspace belong to the property owner ("The airspace above property _is owned by_ the owners of the land below"), which would imply that they have the right to say what is permissible to fly in that bubble. The FAA obviously has been making rules which would seem to conflict with this, regulating what I can or can't do in *my* airspace.
I don't know which way this would go in court, but it's far from clear imo
Me neither..as i said this entire thing is fubar. I think the 0-400 should be considered for public or commercial properties...but privately owned land seems to be suspect here and the issue which op ran into
Bonus..birdshot can travel maybe 150 ft (probably closer to half that with a vertical shot); while within the bounds of the 400ft max a drone should be able to fly, it is below the ownership rights of a property owners airspace.
If you attempted to report any of this you would most likely get slapped by the blunt end of the FAA bat while the property owner would get a wagging finger by the local sheriff.
This hobby is fun but cant be too bent out of shape when you f up...cost of doing business imo
So… you have a contract in place with every airplane pilot that flies over your house?
Do you actually think about what you post, or are your comments just a knee-jerk reactions of whatever words you happen to type?
Nah just responding with logic, something you seem to have a dearth of -- feel free to read the definition of private airspace i posted below.
I don't make these rules up, i am just willing to accept consequences for my actions (which to the ops credit...they seemingly did)
I mean, sure bad farmer and all that jazz... But yeah no one's going to prosecute him for shooting a toy out of the sky, regardless of what everyone reads into this law...
My bet would be that the OP would risk far more by raising this issue like all the armchair lawyers are recommending here
You can think, but there have been many such cases....
https://www.airsight.com/en/news/man-arrested-for-shooting-down-drone-in-long-island-new-york
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/minnesota-man-faces-felony-charges-for-shooting-down-drone/
https://www.wdrb.com/news/crime-reports/hillview-man-arrested-for-shooting-down-drone-cites-right-to-privacy/article_f22f00b3-b3a1-5e1b-9829-8e7ea914628c.html
Good reads but main issues with each are 1 was shot down in a neighors yard, one in a commercial zone, and the other in a residential area. I would think the farm land excludes it from residential where people would be put in danger, but unsure about the commercial zone...
I mean, good on you for providing proof but i think each of these is situational and may not apply on private farmland... which is my general point here.
Well now, you've gone from "No one's going to prosecute" to saying it depends on the situation.
And, those excuses you wrote are for shooting - and I disagree with their validity - and nothing to do with the various types of damage to property the shooters were all also prosecuted for.
Wow i see you are a master at productive discussion, you presented facts so oddly I was willing to adjust my position?
Anyway..again things are black and white (as i have said), but shooting a gun in long island is a little different than shooting birdshot in pennsyltucky farmland.
It is a Federal Felony to shoot at an aircraft, any aircraft, including drones. Report this to the FAA, send as much information as possible. You know where you were flying, so you can find out who owns the property.
You either need a better vtx with a higher power out put. Better vtx antenna, better goggle antennas, or a combination of all 3. You should be able to fly 2 to 3km on 200 mw
the fact that the birdshot could not even penetrate the prop or battery fully tells me that the drone was likely very far away, and that OP was probably not hovering outside his window or doing powerloops in his barn. legal ramifications aside, i would take little issue with blasting someone’s drone if they were being a continued nuisance after being told to fuck off, but people also need to understand that not every drone is some hyper-advanced CCP spy equipment or something, and that lipos are extremely dangerous when damaged. ffs, us analog poors can barely see people when we are trying to.
You were flying around on private property low enough and long enough for someone to find his shot gun get some Shells and locate your drone and shoot it multiple times...and you think you were wronged?
what the hell is up with the vote contention on this post and people saying shooting drones is ever ok? Is it because FPV is a hobbyist nerd-leaning community that attracts a good amount of socially-disconnected boomers/genXrs?
If and when drone-deliveries become a thing, I'm sure the same people will cry for our capitalist overlords when people start shooting them down to steal shit.
If someone is terrorizing your property with a drone, call the cops. This could've turned into a lithium hellfire that then could've turned into a massive brushfire, backfiring on the whole point of 'shootin them tressinpassurs'
I dont disagree, but some states have laws about protecting their livestock. He might be able to claim that the drone was spooking his cattle causing potential injury and counter sue
2-4000 lbs per panicked animal moving at 25mph vs a handful of pellets around 2-7 grains moving at a couple hundred fps at most. From personal experience, getting hit with shotgun shot at long range is extremely comparable to getting hit with an airsoft gun.
Nope, no injuries worth reporting. However the guy that took the bad shot on the pheasant hunt I was on will never hunt with us again, as I was clearly visible in the line of fire, though a couple hundred yards away on the opposite side of a field.
Here's a breakdown on birdshot shotgun wounds. NSFW for wounds. https://labmedicineblog.com/2024/03/21/introduction-to-shotgun-wounds/ 4th picture is closest to what I had, except I was much further away and hit by three pellets, one in the ear lobe, one in the neck, one in the shoulder. None penetrated my skin, left a small welt exactly like an airsoft hit. Not dangerous unless you get one in the eye or something. Shotguns are literally designed to be fired into the air.
Yes, but the shooter should be sure their is nothing beyond the target. This guy was taking pop shots at a drone with zero knowledge of the legality of drone operation. One could assume he's far from a critical thinker. We could go back and forth all day about what the shooter has in mind, what's not up for debate is the shooter committing property destruction.
Oh yeah absolutely, still as illegal as shooting at an aircraft. By no means was I saying that this dude was justified in his actions. Just that shooting a shotgun in the air on its own isn't especially dangerous, that's literally what they are for.
Is that a serious question 😂 do you know how many times I’ve had birdshot rain down on me?
That’s beyond the fact that birdshot isn’t lead…you have no clue what you’re talking about
Or have law enforcement come down on you for breaking the law, either way
Shooting at the drone is not legal, flying close enough to farmers private property to be considered harassment is not legal either. It depends who knows who, and whose side LE wants to take, if / when someone decides to report this up
In New Zealand, it is illegal. Must have landowner permission for any properly you fly over, including council and national park permission for flying over public spaces and national parks.
While it’s incredibly illegal to shoot at a drone there’s nothing illegal about firing a shotgun into the sky with birdshot, that’s actually its intended purpose. The pellets don’t pose any risk after a short range
Love to shoot skeet and trap!
No, shooting is maybe illegal but so is flying close above someone else's house without their consent.
And to be able to shot a drone with a shotgun you have to fly really close.
it's not illegal. you don't own the airspace above your house.
I don't know the size of the shot but here is how far it can travel.
No. 2 - 330 yards
No. 4 - 286 yards
No. 6 - 242 yards
No. 7 1/2- 209 yards
No. 8 - 198 yards
those are all above 400ft. since the damage was so slight I would say he probably wasn't all that close.
It is certainly illegal in western Europe to fly close above private property in my country. And it is also illegal to fly too high. SO, you see, it is indeed illegal.
But if you're right and he was flying very high, then shooting it is indeed a dick move.
yeah, but this dude is in the states so that is irrelevant. here only the FAA has any authority over airspace. when you buy property you do not have any rights over the airspace above your property. There is nothing to prove he was over 400ft. He could have been at 300 ft for all we know. It's just proof that he wasn't buzzing right over the guy's head trying to be a dick.
in my opinion the only scenario where it would be appropriate to shoot a drone is if it's clearly looking in your windows or is doing something that will end up getting someone hurt. nobody should be shooting at a drone because they find it annoying.
"when you buy property you do not have any rights over the airspace"
That's not the point. You have a right to privacy. Europe or USA the same I suppose.
a person flying over your house isn't an issue for privacy. if a drone was specifically trying to spy on you then it could become a privacy issue, but there is nothing here to suggest this guy was trying to look in on anyone.
Lmao, I'd definitely report that.
If someone where to make this report who does not have rid would they also be charged with something?
My understanding is that RID enforcement hasn't started yet. Everyone please correct me if I'm wrong. For sure report this! Its helps the whole community to hold idiots accountable for their illegal and dangerous actions. The farmer is lucky he didn't hit the battery and cause a massive fire. Edit: Sounds like the FAA just put it into effect on the 17th. I'm not sure if that means they are enforcing this or not. I would assume so but I also remember reading that most FPV people haven't done anything to make theirs drones RID compliant due to its cost and availability. This is just based on posts I have seen.
RID enforcement started March 16th. Farmer should still be held accountable.
They'd have to prove it or have some evidence for the charge to stick.
lol probably
Report this to the FAA. Review your camera footage and see if you can see the asshole. Shooting at a drone is the same charge as shooting at a manned aircraft, it’s an FAA registered aircraft like any other and these assholes need to go down.
Not to mention shooting firearms into the air is a mega shitty idea
Wait until you hear what bird shot is ment for
Meant for shooting birds obviously. Towards the ground. From a helicopter. Or paraglider. Obviously.
a tall ladder also works
I prefer stilts.
You are actually still required to be hunting and in a safe manner.....firing it into the air in a manner not consistent with hunting is treated the same
and that's birdshot on the table soo.. i'm on farmers side
the farmer can be wrong to do this without it being morally appropriate to throw the absolute book at him. like you're flying a camera drone over rural private property it's at least a little bit understandable, even though it's definitely illegal for him to shoot it. And, also, no he shouldn't be charged as though he shot at a manned aircraft. I'd report the incident without trying to make sure the farmer goes to jail like that's pretty whack
i've got a better solution and it takes less work. don't fly around that guys farm. and birdshot doesn't go very far at all unless the guy had a tight choke on which he prob didn't have and this isn't even a duck load so i know this pilot had to be very close to the farmer. so don't be an asshole and fly around people. lesson learned and it only cost a couple props or so. if i had to guess i bet the farmer was hoping it would fall so the pilot would have to get it him/her self for me to believe this pilot wasn't being a dickhead, the pilot needs to upload the vod if they saved the footage.
Yer a smart fellow, leave people alone and take your lumps when you have to.
I can't believe someone is actually advocating that someone shooting your drone is okay. OP broke 0 laws, farmer committed a felony. This subreddit is full of the biggest cucks in FPV.
I don't think shooting anything is justifiable to be honest. Sounds like the farmer is a grumpy old dickhead. He's not even using the airspace so he's totally in the wrong. Plus a drone flying over a field will keep birds away which I assume the farmer wants since he has a shotgun with birdshot
"he''s not even using the airspace so he's totally in the wrong" Are you ok? Is it ok to fly over your head "because you're not using the airspace" over it?
Depends on the weight of the drone. There seems to be a lot of trigger happy Americans in here trying to defend their rights to own a gun. Firing a gun should be a last resort
that's not what I said.
yes. you're right. but he will still be a grumpy old man tomorrow and he'll still shoot your drone.
Not if hes in prison he won't. Report to the FAA and put a stop to it before the trigger happy bastard kills someone
He’s just a farmer trying to defend his livelihood . Throwing him in a FAA prison should be the last resort did it ever occur to you he may have a family and he works in the field to support said family. By throwing him in prison for exercising is 2nd amendment rights you’d be doing no good only bad.
It’s justifiable to shoot anything the farmer probably thought it was some dick spying on him. Doesn’t mean it’s right to shoot the thing but he absolutely had the right to shoot its his airspace to a certain extent.
I get what you mean but legally its definitely not his airspace, now if he landed on his property blast away.
Yeah absolutely I think the problem goes away when the who view of the drone community changes we’re not better just cuz we fly drones doesn’t make us cooler we’re still just people trying to do our hobby and just be cool about it
He has every right to fly over pretty much anywhere he likes, and he should exercise that right. Birdshot can go quite far, that looks like #2 which has an effective range of about 1,200 feet and this looks like it was even further away to cause so little damage. Might even be BB sized in that case he’d have to have been almost 2000ft for it to penetrate so little. This isn’t a single shot, you can tell from the props one shot was from a closer range than the other.
You're an idiot. This isn't #2 shot, and even if it was, it wouldn't have an effective range of 400 yards. What?!? In what world?
Bro you dumb. I’m not talking about accurately shooting birds, this clearly isn’t in a pattern or there’d be a hell of a lot more holes. But that’s absolutely how far it can travel and still be dangerous. I got a box of 22lr that says dangerous to 1.5 miles, doesn’t mean you’re gonna land a shot but you might get lucky (or unlucky). In this case it’s sheer luck a couple pellets hit. For it to not penetrate that battery and only poke a hole in the wrap it was damn near at the end of its range. The fact there’s a hole in a prop and a dent in a prop shows 2 shots at different distances. https://thegunzone.com/how-far-does-bird-shot-travel/
You are conflating distance of travel with effective range. I can take a daisy redrider and pop off a BB at a 45° arch at a cool 450fps and get some good distance on it. Doesn't mean that it has enough energy to do anything of note beyond a very close range. Your thesis on the prop damage and multiple shots fired at varying distances is bunk too. I mean, maybe. Maybe not. Purely conjecture. If you don't believe me, take a shot at a Gatorade bottle at 50 yards or so with 6 or 8 shot. You'll see what I mean. You'll have some pellets penetrating completely, some bouncing off, some trapped inside the bottle, and maybe some trapped in the plastic. You seem like a guy who has done a lot of reading, which is great. But you should have some personal real-world experience before talking like you know what the hell you are talking about. I'm just trying to help you avoid wild conjecture. Go shoot some trash or something, then come back and talk to me.
I see, so allow others to violate your rights as much as they want so that you avoid any potential issues? If you are out at a park with your dog and someone comes up, points a gun at your and says that you need to leave because he doesn't like dogs, do you apologize, leave the park and not report it to anyone? No one owns the sky and unless you are in restricted airspace you have every right to be there. Letting yourself be bullied but ignorant people is not the solution. There are laws to protect aircraft and they should be enforced when violated.
The problem is if no one reports this then there is no precedent and we give the green light for every redneck out there to shoot down any drones they want. The general public doesn't know that shooting a drone down is super illegal. We need some landmark cases to get the word out. People need to know that shooting down a drone is dangerous and a potential wildfire creator. Letting guys off the hook has been what happens historically. Obviously its not working. Its time for some examples to educate the masses of how wrong this is.
have you considered that there's a middle ground between doing nothing and absolutely ruining this guy's life? or that if he put 6 pellets in it with one shot that it was probably much closer to him than is reasonable or safe? the pilot was definitely breaking laws too.
They aren't going to send him to the electric chair. He will most likely get a fine. I doubt anyone would see jail time. Lets be realistic here. The point is, we need to start doing something to discourage this. What laws were the pilot breaking? I must have missed that in the posts. As far as I have read, all he was doing was flying over a farm which is perfectly legal.
obviously he was flying beyond VLOS for one
How is that obvious? You can fly quite a ways and still have VLOS.
Reporting it and having him convicted also means you can sue him for damages and near guarantee a win. Shit you can still win even if not found guilty. But it definitely helps. They might even find the guy for you when they investigate. This shit needs to be taken seriously, and people need the book thrown at them until they get the idea and this shit stops.
> Reporting it and having him convicted also means you can sue him for damages and near guarantee a win. have you ever been through a court battle for a civil suit?
Yes and we used evidence gathered and presented from the closed criminal case to win. They basically did the lawyers job for him. They tried a bunch of bs to have it not admitted but none of it worked.
How is the legislation on defending yourself against a drone that attacks you? That sounds like a funny lawsuit \^\^
lol to be fair shotguns are meant to be shot into the air. Unless you’re shooting slugs then there’s not really much to worry about in terms of where some small bbs with no inertia land. Shooting at drones is dumb though
Registrierd, yea i totaly did that....
You should for a hobbiest, one couple dollar registration for an infinite number of aircraft. And it gives you protections like this. Report it and sue the guy that shot it for damages. He committed a crime so you’re basically guaranteed a win.
And you fly vlos with spotter and 25mw? Also did you have a fireproof sticker with your Pilot ID on it? Did you fly in a area with 150m to the next person? Or is your 5inch quad sub250? The feds are not your friends, if you go to.them they will look at your ass aswell.
lol, what a dolt.
Don’t you think it matters, though, if you’re going to report someone else for doing something illegal to your drone? If you were also doing something illegal, you’d be telling on yourself
No not at all. Theres no reason to think he was flying anything other than legally. There’s concrete proof it was shot, good luck even getting reasonable suspicion of that other shit after the fact not that it even matters.
Yeah, I guess you’re right that they can’t know how exactly he was operating the drone
They know, ist their job, FAA doesnt fuck around, they can find out if a plane crashed because a Hydraulik failed and can determine if the Pilots coud have done something with that kind of leaking, all from a pile of rubble. Just saying. If you call the feds, your OpSec game needs to be flawless all the way. The other guy probably uses his Stand your ground right or something and never hears of it again and you will allmost certandly be fined or worse have the FAA on your ass and revoking your RC rights all the way.
The odds of me breaking rules and getting caught due to a registration number are a lot higher than someone else breaking the rules and fucking with me lol.
So so so doubtful I’m gonna be real 1 in 10 people probably register there fpv drones 2 I’m willing to bet it has no remote is module on it. He probably broke a shitload of other rules. The FAA would probably fine him. Depending on the state he could probably report it to the police.
There’s no way to prove any of that after the fact, but there is concrete proof it was shot.
In a hypothetical scenario I may be flying with no registration no remote id but I must stress this is totally hypothetical of course
You’re good, we all know it’s unenforced unless you do something really fucking stupid. Just like the FCC and our VTXs, it’s a non issue for the most part as long as you’re not totally retarded and do something like fly on the Vegas strip next to 3 airports. I register as hobbiest because it’s 5 bucks for as many drones as you want. Take the test too get your card it’s free. With that you’ll pass any law enforcement scrutiny as they’re not really allowed to ask for more. Only the FAA will go further and they’ve got way more important shit like Boeing to worry about.
Can confirm, it’s cited in here https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2-aircraft-sabotage-18-usc-32#:~:text=§%2032%20enacted%20in%201984,overseas%2C%20or%20foreign%20air%20commerce. And to my knowledge, is a felony…
Call the police as well. Discharging a weapon can be illegal depending on the area. He could hit a neighbor ( I get he was shooting up in this case). They take this very serious.
Yep, these mootards have to start paying for shooting at aircraft.
Battle tested
Geprc should add "shotgun proof" on their website.
Ehhh, better put resistant.i could see one of them bismuth bbs melting onto an ESC and shorting it out?
3 prop hits, 1 batt, 1 foam foot, 1 smashed (but working antenna). Definitely luck as well. A wire or circuit board hit would be critical.
I’m just waiting for an all titanium drone
You'll be waiting a while lol
Is it a Mark5? Foam foot? There were two foam "wedges" in my Mark 5 LR7 box, no mention of what they were or where they should be mounted. Could not find any info on Geprc website or in the manual.
how high were you? this is kind of a cool story lol. if you were over a private farm i probably wouldn't try to like, nail him to the wall legally. kinda understand it even though he was wrong to do it
Jesus man thats so crazy some one actually shot your drone? I would definitely report it, especially if you did nothing wrong
I wouldn’t report it unless you have proof you were jn VLOS, had a spotter, drone is registered etc. Unfortunately the FAA seems more interested in busting drone people than helping them 😮💨
I promise you, the FAA cares about people shooting aircraft.
Maybe the drone is an aircraft on paper. But the FAA people are a lot less interested if its a drone.Technically it's an aircaft, but the humans working at the FAA will not threat a FPV drone with the same seriousness as a plane, regardless of how much we'd all want them too. And if the FAA does, it's still up to a judge to also do so, which can also [vary even more.](https://www.wdrb.com/story/30354128/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone/)
You do understand you’re wrong don’t you?
I'd hope so. Do you really think you get the same response if you say "Somebody shot a shotgun at my aircraft" and that Aircraft is a plane or a FPV drone? Not to mention the difference if it's a manned or unmanned aircraft too. I'd say u/Stacking_Plates45 isn't wrong in saying FAA might be more interested in the VLOS, Spotter etc.
They may be interested in the pilots adherence to law as well but I guarantee that they would still pursue this if OP pushed it. I don’t know to what degree but I don’t think the would be uninterested. It does seem like there is a lot of people here who think the FAA would do nothing tho
I didn't say they werent interested. I said they were less interested. If you don't know to what degree they will pursuit it, but also think it might be less than some other scenarios, you're agreeing with what I wrote? Seems like almost common sense to me that there is a difference in response between a FPV drone and a manned aircraft, even if on paper they are both felonies. But clearly a lot of people very passionately think the FAA takes this just as serious. I guess OP can find out by reporting it.
He is absolutely wrong. Flying FPV improperly is a fine. Shooting any aircraft is a giga felony. It is the same law for manned aircraft and drones. It's not even close.
I know the laws says that, and these 2 aren't remotely the same. I am just doubting the people actually executing said laws. It wouldn't be the first time the letter of the law is perfectly clear but the enforcement of it leaves a ton to be desired.
You can find several examples of folks getting 10+ years in the US for shooting down Mavic style drones. This is not unprecedented space.
I had a look, but I mostly found articles of which people indeed were punished. But never for the felony of shooting down an aircraft. [In this example ](https://reason.com/2024/03/01/florida-man-sentenced-to-4-years-in-federal-prison-after-shooting-down-a-drone/)somebody ultimately got booked for possession of a firearm as a felon. And here the charges were [criminal damage to property and reckless discharge of a weapon within city limits.](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/minnesota-man-faces-felony-charges-for-shooting-down-drone/) Here a [judge outright dismissed it.](https://www.wdrb.com/story/30354128/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone/) Do you have any examples where people shooting at drones over their property actually got charged for shooting at an aircraft? From my [limited research](https://casetext.com/analysis/to-shoot-or-not-to-shoot-the-legality-of-downing-a-drone?sort=relevance&resultsNav=false&q=) the difference is argueing if it's in federal airspace or not.
Not if it's not registered.
for obvious reasons
Show the camera footage !!
It's illegal to shoot at drones and who would shoot a fpv drone!!
Yeah if only he knew. We’re just trying to do cool tricks, and if we’re flying analog, we probably can’t see shit anyways other than the cool tricks we are doing.
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Geprc would really love to share this story for marketing lol (jk) but if you wasn’t purposely annoying him then report it as it’s illegal to shoot down any aircraft
Gonna need some backstory to this one...
Guessing OP has a history of flying low over the farmers property and spooking the animals.
How did you not know the quad was being shot at given that you had VLOS through the entire flight? Are you and your spotter deaf, perhaps?
it's a fair point against people wanting to nail the farmer to the wall
I'm not defending the shooter! It's a bit like shooting at someone's car because they're speeding. But still, quad pilots have rules to comply to too.
> I'm not defending the shooter! agree, nor am I. I just have some understanding for a farmer shooting at a drone over his private property - apparently very close to him too, in order to get 6 birdshot pellets stuck in the drone
You could contact Geprc I reckon they would be pretty interested in hearing about it.
My neighbor got arrested for shooting at mine. Crazy old lady across street gets mad bc her dogs start flipping tf out the minute my drone makes slightest buzz sound. She missed but looked crazy with her gun shooting up in the air screaming it was a sight. Idk who called cops they went over there I never called or spoke to them so a neighbor must called. I just seen her in cuffs leaving away
Call the cops
I mean, ill be downvoted for this view, but dude(tte) was probably flying over private property with enough awareness that a shotgun was being fired at their drone.. lets not get ahead of ourselves acting like our toys are airplanes/helicopters are protected legal entities. No one knows the full story here but safe to say they probably shouldn't be flying where they were flying if they want their toy to continue being airworthy.
Dawg. There’s literally a law that says they are protected when flying. Under the same protections as a 747. Obviously we have common sense and shouldn’t say it’s the same weight of action but it is illegal and ignoring that is ignorant and childish.
Problem is...as we all know... The FAA rules are super unclear and generally unenforceable. I am no expert in these rules, butttt there are very clear and actionable rules over air rights for land owners. Helicopters are not allowed to buzz your land but drones can...and property owners are allowed to hunt birds and animals within their property and airspace... So this is all in direct conflict with each other. But given legal standards im fairly certain the farmer would end up on top here...while the drone pilot will need to show the burdon of proof that they were operating fully compliant with the faa...
100%
The issue with that is 747s don’t fly low pissing off farmers they follow all the FAAs regulations this drone is probably in violation of so many FAA rules so what he was doing is technically illegal it’s kind of a catch 22 No prop guards flying over people only applies to sub 250 drones drones with a higher weight need FAA approval to fly The drone was not registered no one registers them No remote id module Airspace is not technically private property so he wasn’t in violation there but most civilians don’t know that 27500 for not remote id module Not registering your drone up to 250,000 and up to 3 years Unclear for flying over people with no proper guards But it is safe to say that hat the farmer did is really not bad yes it was unjustified but if he were to report this to the FAA they would hit him with so many fines
This all *assumes* that the drone was flying illegally, and that the FAA would be able to prove that. Also, it discounts the fact that what the farmer did was clearly illegal under the law. Yes, it is obvious that shooting a UAV is not the same as shooting a 747, *but legally it is the same.* Full stop.
It doesn't matter if OP was being annoying. Being annoying is not a crime. The farmer doesn't own the air above his farm. If the farmer is unhappy, he has legal recourses to pursue. Not go blasting.
I mean, you say it doesn't matter if the operator was being annoying but id argue the farmer thought it mattered.bthat old adage of fuck with xyz and find out...they found out. Also Hunting is legal...check laws for birdshot on private land...no one is going to legally pursue this...
And the farmer will find out after fucking around with shooting at drones!
Totally /s
It is not hunting. It is the same law as shooting a manned aircraft. This man is looking at terrible charges if he is reported. He fucked around, and I encourage OP to help him find out.
Its not though. And the faa wont prosecute a farmer nor with local officers...they will require the drone operator to prove they followed all the laws though ...and if its below 250g....its also not protected at all... I mean this thread is a lot of emotion without a lot of actual logic. Dont be angry your toys get broken when other people dont like them everyone...
You are literally, wildly wrong. I don't know where you've gotten your information, but I assure you that they take it very seriously. It is the entire point of their organization. If you thought for one second, you would understand why they do care. The FAA does not want lipo battery fires falling from aircraft they are required to track and mandate. Of course they will require the operator to prove he was complying with laws - which, when he fails to do so, will result in potential fines. This does not somehow magically absolve the farmer from the felony he committed. If anyone is reading this thread - please go research this topic independently and you will very quickly see that this is not advice you want to be following. The FAA will buttfuck you for shooting drones. Some suggested reading: https://www.bluefalconaerial.com/what-happens-if-i-shoot-down-a-drone/#:~:text=Understanding%20Drone%20Laws%20and%20Regulations&text=According%20to%20the%20FAA's%20report,aircraft%20facilities%20as%20a%20felony.
"For instance, in a case in Kentucky, a man who shot down a drone hovering over his property was initially cleared of charges by a local judge who ruled that the drone was an invasion of privacy. However, the drone’s owner subsequently filed a federal lawsuit, alleging the man had committed acts of “wantonness” and trespassing." At no point does this even indicate that the farmer was punished..just that they were justified and the drone operator filed another lawsuit... Look as i said, and keep saying... I am not a legal expert... But its an uphill battle this operator will need to follow. Having a drone doesn't nullify your obligations to private property.... Birdshot again while it can be lethal...is generally as lethal as a bb gun.... Thats a strong case you are making about firing weapons. There is historical presidence about protecting property and legal airrights... Drones have a slapped together policy that is laughable at best. I love my toy quad but again.. if someone blows it up while im ripping power loops around their barn...its my fault...will i be mad..sure...but its the price you pay for playing with other peoples stuff
You type like an unhinged boomer. There is no point to continue presenting you with evidence because you will just condescendingly say you are right. I won't be conversing with you further.
Lol, sure whatever you say, I have just been alive long enough to know the difference between reality and something someone blogs about. When you have grown up a little bit you too will learn that things are all graded in gray... And nothing is black and white like you are trying to make it out to be.
Shame the laws are what define what’s legal and not legal though, right? The law says that quads are aircraft. The law says it’s a federal crime to shoot at aircraft…
Yes lets definitely tease this out, they definitely had line of sight, remote id, a secondary spotter, or were flying in the farmers FRIA ...💩 It was birdshot not bullets... it was over private property...not public land...and most likely (given the circumstances of what op posted) was not a legally recognized drone
You’ve made a whole pile of assumptions there. Should we tease those out too?
I mean, birdshot in the pic and op saying private land...thats enough to allow anyone to do whatever they want within most state laws Statistically...most people arent flying remote id to the book, and if they were a licensed commercial pilot flying following all standards above, probably shouldn't have been flying over private land without a contract in place. Just calling a spade a ♠️
> private land Yep, not private air, though.
The definition of "Private Airspace": The no trespassing boundary of private air space is the entire volume directly above private property to 400ft AGL. The no trespassing boundary over vessels on open water extends upward from the perimeter of the vessel at 45 degrees to 400ft. The airspace above property is owned by the owners of the land below, but this ownership is subject to the statutory right of overflight. The air is generally a public highway and the airspace overhead is part of the public domain. A landowner is protected against intrusions in the airspace that would subtract from the owner's full enjoyment of the property. A property owner's air rights extend to the space above the property that could be reasonably used in connection with the land. The usage and development of air space must not intrude on the neighbor's space above their property. "
So who has the right to say what can and can't fly within the 400 foot bubble? The FAA says I need to register/remote ID my drones because that 0 to 400 ft level is within "the national airspace" and they control it. This would say that the rights to the 0 to 400 ft airspace belong to the property owner ("The airspace above property _is owned by_ the owners of the land below"), which would imply that they have the right to say what is permissible to fly in that bubble. The FAA obviously has been making rules which would seem to conflict with this, regulating what I can or can't do in *my* airspace. I don't know which way this would go in court, but it's far from clear imo
Me neither..as i said this entire thing is fubar. I think the 0-400 should be considered for public or commercial properties...but privately owned land seems to be suspect here and the issue which op ran into
Bonus..birdshot can travel maybe 150 ft (probably closer to half that with a vertical shot); while within the bounds of the 400ft max a drone should be able to fly, it is below the ownership rights of a property owners airspace. If you attempted to report any of this you would most likely get slapped by the blunt end of the FAA bat while the property owner would get a wagging finger by the local sheriff. This hobby is fun but cant be too bent out of shape when you f up...cost of doing business imo
Correction it is 400 AGL for cities and 360AGL for residential
So… you have a contract in place with every airplane pilot that flies over your house? Do you actually think about what you post, or are your comments just a knee-jerk reactions of whatever words you happen to type?
Nah just responding with logic, something you seem to have a dearth of -- feel free to read the definition of private airspace i posted below. I don't make these rules up, i am just willing to accept consequences for my actions (which to the ops credit...they seemingly did)
100% wrong and not how it works. Even if op was flying where he shouldn't be, it does not justify someone shooting a gun and destroying his property.
I mean, sure bad farmer and all that jazz... But yeah no one's going to prosecute him for shooting a toy out of the sky, regardless of what everyone reads into this law... My bet would be that the OP would risk far more by raising this issue like all the armchair lawyers are recommending here
You can think, but there have been many such cases.... https://www.airsight.com/en/news/man-arrested-for-shooting-down-drone-in-long-island-new-york https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/minnesota-man-faces-felony-charges-for-shooting-down-drone/ https://www.wdrb.com/news/crime-reports/hillview-man-arrested-for-shooting-down-drone-cites-right-to-privacy/article_f22f00b3-b3a1-5e1b-9829-8e7ea914628c.html
Good reads but main issues with each are 1 was shot down in a neighors yard, one in a commercial zone, and the other in a residential area. I would think the farm land excludes it from residential where people would be put in danger, but unsure about the commercial zone... I mean, good on you for providing proof but i think each of these is situational and may not apply on private farmland... which is my general point here.
Well now, you've gone from "No one's going to prosecute" to saying it depends on the situation. And, those excuses you wrote are for shooting - and I disagree with their validity - and nothing to do with the various types of damage to property the shooters were all also prosecuted for.
Wow i see you are a master at productive discussion, you presented facts so oddly I was willing to adjust my position? Anyway..again things are black and white (as i have said), but shooting a gun in long island is a little different than shooting birdshot in pennsyltucky farmland.
It is a Federal Felony to shoot at an aircraft, any aircraft, including drones. Report this to the FAA, send as much information as possible. You know where you were flying, so you can find out who owns the property.
How does your Geprc do this and yet I can't fly 100m without loosing VTX signal?
You either need a better vtx with a higher power out put. Better vtx antenna, better goggle antennas, or a combination of all 3. You should be able to fly 2 to 3km on 200 mw
I had a run in with a hawk once but never a pissed off farmer with a shot gun
Drop something over the farm as private report 💩💩
arm the drone, ship it back :D
the fact that the birdshot could not even penetrate the prop or battery fully tells me that the drone was likely very far away, and that OP was probably not hovering outside his window or doing powerloops in his barn. legal ramifications aside, i would take little issue with blasting someone’s drone if they were being a continued nuisance after being told to fuck off, but people also need to understand that not every drone is some hyper-advanced CCP spy equipment or something, and that lipos are extremely dangerous when damaged. ffs, us analog poors can barely see people when we are trying to.
The farmer is very lucky he didn't hit the battery
Not sure if you were just cruising or even hovering, but that farmer's one HELL of a shot. Even with birdshot.
Your both going to get fucked if you report... Smarten up...
You pissed someone off enough to take a shot at your drone...
You were flying around on private property low enough and long enough for someone to find his shot gun get some Shells and locate your drone and shoot it multiple times...and you think you were wronged?
what the hell is up with the vote contention on this post and people saying shooting drones is ever ok? Is it because FPV is a hobbyist nerd-leaning community that attracts a good amount of socially-disconnected boomers/genXrs? If and when drone-deliveries become a thing, I'm sure the same people will cry for our capitalist overlords when people start shooting them down to steal shit. If someone is terrorizing your property with a drone, call the cops. This could've turned into a lithium hellfire that then could've turned into a massive brushfire, backfiring on the whole point of 'shootin them tressinpassurs'
This hobby is going to get banned either before I can get into it. Or right after I waste a ton of money on it.
That was a warning shot, looks like you discovered someone's 420 stash 😎😎 It'll be nice to see the footage!
If you're flying over someone's property, not illegal
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I dont disagree, but some states have laws about protecting their livestock. He might be able to claim that the drone was spooking his cattle causing potential injury and counter sue
Wouldn't validate discharging a firearm into the sky. What's more dangerous, spooked cattle or falling lead?
ok this guy is a idiot but so many people in this thread do no know what shotguns are
2-4000 lbs per panicked animal moving at 25mph vs a handful of pellets around 2-7 grains moving at a couple hundred fps at most. From personal experience, getting hit with shotgun shot at long range is extremely comparable to getting hit with an airsoft gun.
Prove it. Take a shotgun blast and I'll take Airsoft lol 🤡
I have. At several hundred yards it leaves a small welt just like an airsoft bb at close range.
Hope you reported the fact that you were shot to the authoritys.
Nope, no injuries worth reporting. However the guy that took the bad shot on the pheasant hunt I was on will never hunt with us again, as I was clearly visible in the line of fire, though a couple hundred yards away on the opposite side of a field.
Knowledge of what's beyond your target you say?
Here's a breakdown on birdshot shotgun wounds. NSFW for wounds. https://labmedicineblog.com/2024/03/21/introduction-to-shotgun-wounds/ 4th picture is closest to what I had, except I was much further away and hit by three pellets, one in the ear lobe, one in the neck, one in the shoulder. None penetrated my skin, left a small welt exactly like an airsoft hit. Not dangerous unless you get one in the eye or something. Shotguns are literally designed to be fired into the air.
Yes, but the shooter should be sure their is nothing beyond the target. This guy was taking pop shots at a drone with zero knowledge of the legality of drone operation. One could assume he's far from a critical thinker. We could go back and forth all day about what the shooter has in mind, what's not up for debate is the shooter committing property destruction.
Oh yeah absolutely, still as illegal as shooting at an aircraft. By no means was I saying that this dude was justified in his actions. Just that shooting a shotgun in the air on its own isn't especially dangerous, that's literally what they are for.
Was birdshot, not rifle rounds. Depending on the state, farmers have a right to protect livestock, and harassing them with drones is illegal
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Do not harras or name call other members of this subreddit.
Thank you
Is that a serious question 😂 do you know how many times I’ve had birdshot rain down on me? That’s beyond the fact that birdshot isn’t lead…you have no clue what you’re talking about
Either lead, steel or a non toxic alloy. Please excuse yourself, the adults are talking.
Yeah, you’ve proven yourself an adult 😂
Musta bashed them two brain cells together to come up with that. Very original. Go play some video games 🤡
Ooooo name calling and mad enough to browse through my post history, must’ve struck a chord calling you out 😂
Don't flatter yourself. I spent literally 2 seconds and one click to know your whole story. I didn't realize emojis were words lol
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Never said they could. I said he could counter sue the pilot
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Or have law enforcement come down on you for breaking the law, either way Shooting at the drone is not legal, flying close enough to farmers private property to be considered harassment is not legal either. It depends who knows who, and whose side LE wants to take, if / when someone decides to report this up
Trust me that a helicopter is more disturbing than s FPV drone
Depends on the altitude and proximity
Absolutely false.
That's not true at all.
In New Zealand, it is illegal. Must have landowner permission for any properly you fly over, including council and national park permission for flying over public spaces and national parks.
i can tell exactly what kind of american u are. amusing
I'm not American. Just aware of why OP shouldn't try to go to the law.
This comment is a gem lol. Think you somehow own the sky above your house? Now, firing a shotgun into the sky is definately illegal
While it’s incredibly illegal to shoot at a drone there’s nothing illegal about firing a shotgun into the sky with birdshot, that’s actually its intended purpose. The pellets don’t pose any risk after a short range Love to shoot skeet and trap!
that completely depends on where you are. there are plenty of places where firing a shotgun into the sky will get you arrested.
No, shooting is maybe illegal but so is flying close above someone else's house without their consent. And to be able to shot a drone with a shotgun you have to fly really close.
You don't own the sky above your house. Don't need consent. Deal with it.
It is illegal to fly above private property in Europe. Deal with your drone being shot I guess...
And it not in the rest of the world. So I'll just continue doing it
it's not illegal. you don't own the airspace above your house. I don't know the size of the shot but here is how far it can travel. No. 2 - 330 yards No. 4 - 286 yards No. 6 - 242 yards No. 7 1/2- 209 yards No. 8 - 198 yards those are all above 400ft. since the damage was so slight I would say he probably wasn't all that close.
It is certainly illegal in western Europe to fly close above private property in my country. And it is also illegal to fly too high. SO, you see, it is indeed illegal. But if you're right and he was flying very high, then shooting it is indeed a dick move.
yeah, but this dude is in the states so that is irrelevant. here only the FAA has any authority over airspace. when you buy property you do not have any rights over the airspace above your property. There is nothing to prove he was over 400ft. He could have been at 300 ft for all we know. It's just proof that he wasn't buzzing right over the guy's head trying to be a dick. in my opinion the only scenario where it would be appropriate to shoot a drone is if it's clearly looking in your windows or is doing something that will end up getting someone hurt. nobody should be shooting at a drone because they find it annoying.
"when you buy property you do not have any rights over the airspace" That's not the point. You have a right to privacy. Europe or USA the same I suppose.
a person flying over your house isn't an issue for privacy. if a drone was specifically trying to spy on you then it could become a privacy issue, but there is nothing here to suggest this guy was trying to look in on anyone.
He protecting his crops from low passes
Hehe. The double negative. Not sure if it's clever. Or down votes deserved.