A Weird Time for Drone Operators

Late last month, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought against a Kentucky man who shot a drone out of the sky when it allegedly flew over his property in 2015. The man, who used a shotgun to take out the drone, later dubbed himself the "Drone Slayer." The drone operator, who filed the lawsuit in 2016, argued that his DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter, flying at an altitude of some 200 feet, was in federally protected airspace and was in no way trespassing based on the Federal Aviation Administration's rules and even the trespassing laws of his state, which according to his suit prohibit a person from intruding, not a drone. In short, it wasn't because it thought this drone operator was incorrect; it was because it didn't deem the matter important enough to make a decision that might influence the delicate balance between federal and states' rights. And one of the justifications for that conclusion was that the FAA hadn't involved itself in the incident.