Detroit Drone Got WAY Too Close To The Blue Angels [Video]
A drone pilot from Detroit is being chastised after his drone got a little too close for comfort to the Navy's Blue Angels jets earlier this week.
Tuesday, May 12, the Blue Angels did a fly by in Detroit to honor front line medical workers involved in the fight against the coronavirus. The reviews were terrific, everyone seemed to love it.
But a drone pilot who goes by the online name of @GIOLUCIA is under scrutiny after the video he posted online showed his drone getting a little too close to the elite Angels' jets.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established specific rules for safe camera drone operation. One requirement listed on the faa.gov website specifies, “Do not operate your drone in a careless or reckless manner.” Drone activities for commercial use, such as real estate survey and listing work, require a license from the FAA. Operators must pass an FAA test and obtain a “Part 107” drone operation certification. Basic drone operation rules also include not operating a drone near other aircraft. The video of the Blue Angels shot from the drone seems to be a clear violation of this specification.
The video was originally posted by the person to YouTube, but it has since been removed. Here's a copy of it that was posted to Twitter.
When you consider that's probably a wide angle lens, it's pretty tight. A little too tight for comfort.
Other social media posts from a page attributed to the same person included aerial photos of downtown Detroit at night, when drone operation should be prohibited by the FAA. One Facebook post included aerial photos of downtown Detroit from February 18, 2017 with the caption, “Might of broke a couple FAA regulations today…”