Is your drone a credible threat? Is it a nuisance drone? Is it affected by this new federal law, they can shoot it down.

One of the millions of drones being operated throughout the world

UAS, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, commonly known as "Drones" are fascinating to me, I like them. They have an almost endless list of possible uses, we have already become accustomed to their use in the United States Military. Ranging in size, and price, from basic hobby drones to the larger aircraft capable of carrying heavy payloads. Delivering much-needed supplies to a remote village, following criminals escaping from a crime, or searching the terrain for missing livestock or accident victims. I have thought of purchasing one, but decided right now not to for several reasons, none of which was a lack of interest. I live next to a river when I checked out one that would survive a dip in water sticker shock hit fairly hard. They are a high tech flying computer many are equipped with a camera. Just to become more confused I read the FAA section pertaining to the UAS's, there are two licenses available, amateur and professional, the professional license entails taking a course and a written test, much like a pilots license. Either would have served for my purposes because I have a lot of time I would study for the professional license. I began to ascertain what I would use it for, I spend all of my time on my 1/4 acre, a full acre when I count the adjoining empty spaces Skunk Puppy roams and feels as if she owns neighboring me. Looking in each direction I would probably fly it 360 degrees from my shade tree, or riverside deck hence needing a waterproof unit. My thoughts went to the Rancher across the road, his farm is 20 acres, beyond him are hundreds of acres of grazing land.

This Link leads to the FAA fact sheet pertaining with small unmanned aircraft regulations, take a look.

It makes me curious what the repercussions may be if a Drone were to fly over a herd of grazing steers or sheep causing a stampede. My sister had a German Shepard many years ago, (yep she's really old), her family lived next to a Dairy Farm. The dog chased the herd of cows causing them to go into shock and did not produce milk for something like two weeks, she had to pay the farmer for his lost income. Would the same penalties apply to me if I were to cause the animals to panic causing one to run onto the road and then be struck by a car? Stranger things have happened, a lady I know was driving home from work, she saw a Billy Goat running directly towards her vehicle, the fence did not slow the big animal even a tiny bit. He struck the side of her automobile and met its demise, she had to pay the farmer for his Goat. Does a Rancher or Farmer have the legal right to take capital action against a drone which might cause such an incident? The Capital action I am referring to is if they have the right to shoot a drone out of the sky if it is endangering their livelihood?

One second later this mans life changed forever.

Going a further there are houses around me as well, I would not consider using the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) to "spy" on people, most likely I would chase birds or something on that order. After the drone takes off and heads toward its destination if it were to pass over someone's house will they have a legal right to shoot it down with the defense strategy of preserving their privacy? Is passing over a residence enough to qualify the radio controlled aircraft as a "nuisance drone"?

Three individuals fundamental rights may be involved with these scenarios, the rights of the property owners, the rights of the farmer to protect their livestock, and the fundamental rights of personal property (the drone owner). It brings to mind the old sing-song "your rights end where my nose begins", I use the saying "my nose ends where your fence begins".

One of the first legal cases pertaining to drones and personal property involved a man taking out his shotgun and blasting a UAS out of the sky as it was flying over his property taking photos. The drone owner sued the property owner in Federal Court, it is illegal to shoot down an aircraft, and the sky was (and is) Federal Airspace. Such was the drone owners defense, he was flying in a legal way the airspace was not restricted. The property owner would have been legally in the right if the shooting was necessary to protect his assets, livestock, or land, and if the destruction of the drone was not unreasonable when weighed against the potential harm. The lawsuit was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, it was not determined whether the drone was in Federal Airspace or on the shooter's property. Under Federal law 18 U.S.C. 32. it is a felony to intentionally damage or destroy an aircraft. A property owner or anyone else shooting down a drone may be prosecuted under that criminal law.

By George that looks like a small whirlybird, let's shoot it down
and take a look at it son. 

Several years ago a man living on the slough about a mile distant from me shot a flare into a fisherman's boat. Piercing the vessel completely through, the boat took on water, our slough joins two rivers the San Joaquin and the American. These then wind their way through several bays until it reaches San Francisco Bay 50 miles to the West. From there it flows through the Golden Gate and then out to sea, establishing our slough as an "International Waterway", the man was indicted under federal law and set for trial. He died several months before the trial date. Airspace may one day be treated in the same manner as International Waters.

From my perspective, not being a drone operator or really caring if one flies overhead taking pictures, another set of circumstances may be clearer. If a person was standing on the road taking pictures of me (risking breaking his lense from my image), and if I did not approve of it, there is no way it would be legal for me to pull out old Betsy and shoot him. A pen is mightier than the sword but is a camera mightier than a shotgun, or nearly equal? No, it is not, the potential of damage from a camera, (is it the same as a drone with a camera? interesting) is in no way comparable to the potential disaster caused by a gunshot. Firearms cannot be fired just anywhere, state laws restrict their use for instance in a sub-division, or in rural areas towards houses. To violate those laws a person may be subjected to State as well as Federal laws facing prosecution. Arkansas passed a law making it a crime to knowingly use an unmanned vehicle or aircraft to secretly view by electronic means a person, (Google maps comes to mind) 13 other states have passed laws pertaining to consent where a person's privacy is concerned. In Utah, it is a misdemeanor to disturb or hurt livestock with a drone. Texas made it a crime to fly a UAS over animal feedlots or other feeding operations. Oklahoma has a proposed law exempting landowners from liability for damaging a drone under certain conditions. What if a drone is carrying a potentially dangerous payload like an explosive?

I watched a news segment some time ago about a drone owner fixing a pistol of a large caliber on a UAS, capable of firing accurately and hitting a target. Not to worry our United States Congress is on the job, introducing a 1,200 page FAA Reauthorization Bill last Saturday it will be voted on by the House tomorrow, Wednesday, September 26, 2018, yes its that current. This bill would give the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the FBI the right to track drones and shoot them down if they are decided to be a "credible threat", to a covered facility or asset. It is being sold as giving the Feds the tools to combat the "growing threat" from drones inside this country. Is the threat real? Drones of every size shape and durability are available on the free market, some are capable of carrying life-threatening devices which could in probability be used by criminals and terrorists to drop chemicals, explosives, or conduct illicit surveillance. As it stands now a law enforcement officer, FBI agent, or any other responder would be in violation of Federal Law if he/she were to down a UAS. One huge problem with the bill is the determination of who will decide if a drone is a "credible threat". It makes one wonder if a bill such as this is needed, I envision a law outlining the threat of drones used in this capacity having to be much longer than a mere 1.200 pages, it seems like an incredibly complicated activity to legislate with such a limited bill.

Depending upon which side you're on this could be a nuisance drone.

In the end, will I purchase a drone? I'm still not sure, one thing is for sure if I do it has to be waterproof so I can fly over the pasture on the far side of the river, oops, now that Rancher would shoot a drone down. For a while longer I will stay with my video camera taking movies of the wild things sharing the river with us, I will leave the cattle alone.

Thanks for reading and sharing, the future of UAS's will be interesting, I just hope not to get conked on the head when a package is being delivered by a drone flying overhead and it accidentally drops. Thanks again, let me know what you think, do you operate a drone? Educate me on some aspect of it, my knowledge of them is very limited, but it's hard for me to imagine a cooler device to have, even for an old guy like me.

jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com