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Kathleen Martin

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reportedly looking for the pilot of a drone who broke a series of UAV flying regulations while recording a video above and around the Cincinnati Bengal’s NFL playoff game against Las Vegas Saturday. If caught, the flier risks dizzying fines and possible jail time for his 1:15 film.
The video, taken during the Bengal’s 26-19 victory over the Raiders, unleashed a cascade of condemnation – and at times outrage – from drone enthusiasts for its brazen flaunting of FAA rules banning certain kinds of operation. In this case, the pilot violated prohibitions of flying UAVs around stadiums hosting NFL, MLB, NCAA, or other major sporting events an hour before they begin until at least 60 minutes after they end. Its flight above and around Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium almost certainly ignored beyond visible line of site restrictions. The craft’s overflight of the packed stands – and even on-field players –  similarly broke FAA restrictions on flying above people.
Response to the illicitly shot drone video of the Bengals’ game unleashed an immediate and enduring torrent of angry criticism of the pilot. Since it was uploaded on YouTube Sunday, the footage has been viewed over 38,000 times and elicited over 630 comments. Virtually all of those condemned the repeated FAA rules violations – an unabashed disregard of regulations and act of irresponsibility that many respondents said would only worsen the often unflattering reputation drones suffer among large parts of public opinion. 
“A lot of us go through a lot… (l)earn the rules, follow guidelines, get certified,” lamented Indy Aerial Drone Photography LLC in a comment. “You are definitely one of the reasons rules will get stricter, and (you’re) hurting the hobbyists the most. I don’t know anyone that flies that will approve of this.”
Several other people responding warned the account owner, BrickByBrickProduction513, of the near-certain legal woes the video would generate. And according to media accounts, those troubles may now be on the way. Several publications reported Wednesday the FAA issued a statement confirming its “local safety office is aware of the video and is investigating.” 
Continue reading: https://dronedj.com/2022/01/19/faa-reportedly-hunts-pilot-of-rule-violating-bengals-drone-video/
 

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