By Chuck Woodbury
EDITOR
I got angry at first when I read about this outrageous fine. How ridiculous! A guy who flew a drone for pleasure (well, maybe not just pleasure) broke some FAA rules and ended up with a ridiculous $182,000 fine. But after a little research, I realized why the FAA went after this fellow, and understood that he was likely asking for it.
The story goes that in early November, a Philadelphia man named Mikey, who flies a drone without a professional license, received 123 notices of infractions from the FAA, $1,500 for each one. The total amount in civil penalties added up to $182,004. The violations were related to drone videos he live-streamed on YouTube from December 2019 to this past August.
Mikey operates a YouTube channel called PhillyDroneLife.
Popular YouTube attorney Steve Lehto posted a video about Mikey’s misfortune, which you can watch here. This is where I learned about this.
The FAA issued the fines for various infractions such as flying over 400 feet, reckless flying, flying in the rain, fog, and in strong winds. Mikey contacted lawyers who told him it might take $50,000 to $100,000 for him to fight the charges in court.
Watch Lehto’s video to learn more, but here is why he believes Mikey was fined. It was because he streamed the videos live, in which it was documented when, exactly, the flights were taken, the elevation and all other details. Had he instead, for example, posted recorded videos of drone flights without flight data visible, the FAA would not know conclusively when the flights were made. It could have been years earlier, long after the statute of limitations for charging Mikey with a crime had expired. And even if the videos showed the date of the flight, if enough time had passed and the statute of limitations had passed, the FAA would have no power to fine him.
Interestingly, the FAA did not impose fines on any of Mikey’s flights that were not live streamed, perhaps for those reasons.
But in Mikey’s live-streamed videos, the FAA could see exactly what day and time he flew, at what elevation, and warning messages that popped up on his monitor about illegal or dangerous flying conditions. Below is one frame of him flying high over downtown Philadelphia. As you can see, Mikey could plainly see in his monitor that he was flying 860 feet over the town, way higher than the 400-foot legal limit. The date of the flight is also visible because the video was live-streamed.
A week ago, on his YouTube channel, Mikey live-streamed a rambling, long-winded rant defending his actions, basically saying he was unaware of the laws he had broken, or making excuses. He cried, and thanked viewers who donated money in real time to support him.
I watched a recording of one of the videos he had live-streamed. Mikey, I quickly discovered, is a loud-mouthed, foul-mouthed guy — no crime there — but as I watched him fly his drone right over downtown Philadelphia at 1,000 feet or higher, in-between and around skyscrapers, I was horrified. I don’t know if a helicopter flying in the area could be seriously harmed if it struck a drone, but I concluded that no way should a drone hobbyist be allowed to fly in such an area. You can watch the video here. Don’t watch if foul language offends you.
My point? If you fly a drone, do it legally. If you live-stream be extra careful. There are gray areas with this new technology and it’s easy to cross the line. Mikey was way out of bounds and is paying a huge price. But the lesson here is that if you fly a drone, as many RVers do, follow the rules or risk having a fun hobby turn into a nightmare.
As a Part 107 pilot (FAA’s Commercial License), there are specific rules that must be followed. Just like driving a car and many other things.
When drones became popular, the rules were very lax! And the many “STUPID” people came out of the woodwork! Thus, new and more strict rules had to be imposed and thus required the licensing requirements.
Had this guy simply followed the rules, he would not be in the fix he is in now!
Oh! And for all these people that feel sorry for this guy and donate money to him, Don’t do it. He broke the rules and now it’s time to “Pay The Piper”!
Very simple rule: If you are paid for operating a drone, you are a commercial pilot and must have a license. In addition to passing a test, a license cosrs $150 and is good for 2 years. By showing his video on YouTube, he earns money based on the number of viewers, hence he is a commercial pilot. Other rules are simple and sensible like don’t fly near airports or over populated areas where your drone could damage people or property. This videographer’s narration sounds like he may have been “under the influence” while editing and hopefully not while flying. No sympathy for his plight and bravo to FAA for sensible enforcement action. Wouldn’t be surprised if a responsible drone operator reported this fellow’s violations on FAA’s website.
I really get sick and tired of people stating “I was unaware of the laws.” I got interested in flying drones for personal use while on camping and motorcycle trips. Before purchasing my first Drone earlier this year, I went to the FAA site for (UAS – Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (faa.gov and read on the regulations. First thing I did when I received my drone was to register it, attached the registration number on both sides of the drone and the certificate in my wallet. One thing I did not want to do was accidentally fly over 400ft so I went into the settings of the controller and set max altitude to 300ft. I also downloaded the B4UFLY Mobile App on my phone that tells you if your are able to fly in the area you are at. I am not saying in any way that I’m perfect but if people don’t follow these simple rules then the FAA could shut down flying drones. I really love the video I have taken that you will never get from a camera on the ground. Just my 2 cents!
And THAT is how you do it! Great work Bryan. I’d get a license but my drone crashed after it got about 30′ off the ground… I’m not a good drone pilot 🙂
Seems just. Not knowing about the rules as a commercial pilot is no excuse. I think they should settle for $50k or so. 182k seems excessive and not the intent of the original fine system.
And you are a commercial pilot? Excessive? Really? I’ve seen the damage these toys can do to an aircraft engine and fuselage
They can do almost as much damage to a plane engine as a Canadian Goose. One in each engine caused a plane to land on the Hudson River.
Read the article, ” …received 123 notices of infractions from the FAA, $1,500 for each one.” So it was not a one time fine, but he was fined and he ignored them and so he should pay every last cent for being an idiot.
You cannot fix stupid! Think about a Boeing 737 on final sucking one of those toys into an engine. The “me” generation is sickening.
In the manual for my drone, yeah RTFM, it clearly says, YOU MUST HAVE LICENSE to operate the drone, and to get license, you certify you read the rules. Failure to not get license, read rules, etc. is not going to excuse his stupidity. I hope they throw the whole amount at him. It’s simple to obey the law, and know the rules, what would have happened to him if he had driven a car without a license, plowed throw a line of school kids and killed several, he would be buried under the jail. We need a virus, which kills stupid people.
Your drone manual is incorrect.
Drone pilots have to use their heads and follow rules, just like RVers. They give us all a bad name when they can’t behave. Good for the FAA! To clarify, you have to register your drone if it is over 249g, but you only have to be licensed to fly commercially or for any monetized purpose.
Technically the terminology is “for furtherance of business”. Meaning if you are a roof inspector and use a drone to inspect roofs but you are only charging for the inspection, then the drone is a tool you use “for furtherance of business”. Similarly, if you are a realtor and take your own listing photos using a drone, even if you don’t charge this as a separate service, it is “for furtherance of business” and is subject to the Part 107 certification requirement. Money never enters the FAA definition of what is considered commercial flight. This is true in manned aviation as well, when you cost split a flight with someone on a part 61 flight, the passenger’s portion of split must not exceed 50% (assuming one pilot, one passenger).
Guy got what he deserved. Period.
Wonder what his bill would have been if he crashed an airliner, commuter, or helicopter ?
It is because of stupid people like this that we need gov’t oversight.
Recent news showed that a helicopter was recently downed due to a drone strike by a person flying it where he should not have been.
You have a link to that story? I can’t remember any helicopter/drone incident where the helicopter was brought down.
“I can’t remember” – another lame ‘excuse’. :-/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/11/20/hollywood-man-arrested-after-september-drone-crash-with-lapd-helicopter/
If he had 123 notices, no way in the world he didn’t know what he was doing was illegal. Then to use the “situation” to raise money to help his legal battles! Really???
As a licensed 107 pilot, I would encourage all RVers that use their own drone footage in their Youtube videos to follow three rules: 1) Get your FAA Part 107 license as you are monotizing your footage on YouTube and therefore are flying as a commercial pilot, 2) Know the rules of regional, state and national parks. In most cases, drone flights and filming in these areas is prohibited or require a permit. And finally, 3) follow all the F.A.A. guidelines for operation of your drone(s) and the laws of local and state authorities.
Have to check his videos but downtown Philly don’t you have high rises and wasn’t the rules 400ft above the building your flying over max height in the regs? Not sure lateral distance (40ft maybe?) Anyways, I don’t see it in there where you can’t transition from one building to the other without going down to 400ft but I would assume you have to.
That’s partly correct. The rule states a drone pilot can fly up to 400′ ABOVE structures, as long as the drone is also within a 400 foot radius laterally of that same structure. The catch is, this extra height rule ONLY applies to drone pilot holding a Part 107 license.
FYI. I do not own a drone and I also live in the Philadelphia area. The area he was flying in is called Center City. It is home to 8 major hospitals with helicopter landing pads. Also there are two helipads on buildings in the area that I know of, not to mention that this is also a flight path for PHL, Philadelphia international and Northeast airport is also about 15 miles away and they handle private jets as well as the Philly Police helicopters and other medevac flights. There are helipads along the Delaware River on Pennsylvania and Camden, NJ waterfront.
So this guy was violating safety rules by flying over a certain height. He didn’t have a care about human life or safety. BTW, that helicopter shown at the end, was one of the Philadelphia PD helicopters. I’m sure that people in the buildings he was flying near called 911 as well as Air traffic controllers from Philly airports.
He deserves everything he gets.
All this type behavior is totally predictable in 2020 and isn’t limited to Drone pilots.
Thank you for this article Chuck. Very informative. I’ve been considering getting one just to play with as a hobby. I had no idea about all the requirements, rules, dangers, etc. The information is quite educational.
There’s a couple of RVers on YouTube who recently vlogged that they were fined $1500 by the National Park Service for flying their drone over a National Park. They incurred the fine because they posted the flights on their YouTube channel for which they are monetized. Sounds like they got off lucky.
If he got a 107 he could legally fly above 400ft AGL at the right places.
Fyi someone was fined in socal for hitting a news helicopter, punch a hole in its tail boom.
There has been plenty of news coverage about the problems created with drones. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!
“. I don’t know if a helicopter flying in the area could be seriously harmed if it struck a drone,”
YES! an aircraft ~ drone strike CAN do SIGNIFICANT damage to the aircraft; sometimes said damage can be catastrophic. You would be amazed how difficult it can be for a pilot to spot “traffic” (other aircraft nearby) even when given the general area in which to look for said “traffic”. Drones are much smaller than any aircraft and so, drones will be MUCH harder to see and avoid. The drone operator’s careless, unsafe and repeated illegal use of his drone DEFINITELY merits heavy fines (actually the INDIVIDUAL fines are not outrageous; it’s the CUMULATIVE amount that makes it seem shocking).
I don’t own a drone but, I understand that CLEAR WRITTEN WARNINGS ARE INCLUDED in the box with each drone. Shame on the operator if he chooses to to ignore those warnings.
First off let me say that this guy is reckless and should know better. As a drone pilot who is 107 certified the altitude seems to be the least infraction of an infraction at all. As some of you will recall you are allowed to fly 400ft AGL but you can also fly 400ft above any structure or object within a 400 ft radius as well. Should he even be flying here? Probably not, I am in the Atlanta area and there are no helicopters flying in the city like that but I’ll state again this guy shouldn’t be flying.
this article, what he should have done to get away with breaking the law
Didn’t know!!?? Please make this guy there example. Cross me once shame on me, cross me twice shame on you, cross the FAA 123 times, you’re out of here! Banned from owning a drone.
The big question is when did you get the first fine notice. If he continued flying after the first notice, he deserves it.
He continued after the 3rd notice.
The FAA is not an agency to mess with. As most pilots joke about but knowing the FAA plays no games. The pilot joke is that The FAA taught the IRS how to F*@k. Nuff said…..
Gotta pay your FSDO tax so they look the other way like they do with commercial operators.
Drones,I have been dealing with drones for past 3 years.1.1 miles from Hopkins International Airport.
Over 400 feet every night,following my family everywhere just to let us know we are losers we stalk you because we can.
This person in Philadelphia fined over 100 grand.I know where these people live I dealt with secret service,CPD,Faa. Knowbody cares,I won’t even start with damage they have done to my family.they keep pushing
There is no legal help how far can a person be pushed. Waiting for one of these pilots to crash right into a jet landing at Hopkins.
Sooner or later.wheres the help.
I heard an extra layer of tin foil will protect against drone surveillance. 😉
As a judge told me ions ago back when I was 18, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse, it’s your responsibility to be informed”.
The fine is ridiculous just throw him in prison for a few years.
Your an xxxxx Chuck. Instead of advocating for safe flying you are complaining. Way to try to skirt the rules by saying ‘do what you want just don’t film it and stream live’.
Regardless if it is on film or not, regardless of the video footage has overlays illegal flying is illegal. If you want the FAA to investigate and lay charges without this evidence they can and will. Low hanging fruit first.
You are a xxxxx and shouldn’t be representing the drone community with these views. (Bleeped by Diane. No name-calling, please.)
OH, OH, another future delete.
Not a delete, just a bleep (for now). People just don’t get it. —Diane at RVtravel.com
As an ex Air Traffic Controller in PHL, very dangerous and agree with charges. I could never understand how this has been going on for sometime with out FAA catching up with him
I guess they didn’t teach controllers drone laws… you can fly 400 feet above the highest structure
Recreational flyers cannot go above 400′. What you are describing applies only to those holding a Part 107 license
Time to move to Canada, eh?
You can buy a car but you can’t drive it without a license, why the hell should you be allowed to fly a drone without a license! Good for you – xxxx xxx! (Bleeped by Diane. No name-calling, please. This is a recording. 😯 )
Diane, I’m sorry for the extra work you need to do to edit out the ‘rough’ language. I heard a long time ago that the people who feel they need to resort to bad language to make their point have a low IQ and a limited vocabulary. 😥
Thanks, JGinFL. It’s not a problem, but some days are definitely busier in this regard than others. The comments don’t bother me, personally, but they have no place on RVtravel.com and so I try to keep things “civil” so as not to offend our readers who may not be as thick-skinned as I am (I’ve heard it all in my 74[!] years). And thank you for your explanation – I’ve heard that before. Have a good night, and stay healthy. 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
You can fly over 400 ft.. you’re allowed to fly 400 ft over an object/building.. if a building is 400 ft tall, you can fly 400 ft over it, 800 ft above the ground
You can fly a drone 400 feet ABOVE the highest structure
Throw the book at him. Too many “hobbiest” fly their hobby, proclaiming ignorance of the law which is no defense, putting many people at risk. Currently, the world is under lockdowns to “protect us from ourselves” (ahem, BS!!), so it is only fitting violators shall be prosecuted.
Sic semper.