Trump’s FAA Makes It Practically Impossible To Legally Fly Drones

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A few years ago, it dawned on me that clean, electric-powered aviation isn’t part of some far off solarpunk future. While we’re not going to see electric passenger jets or medical helicopters this year, there are already electric aircraft replacing ICE aircraft almost everywhere. Aerial photography, surveying, search and rescue, agricultural spraying, and many other missions that save or improve lives have been passed on to drone pilots.

A few days ago, Trump’s FAA decided that it would be a good idea to risk all of this progress with a thoughtless new notice to airmen (NOTAM) meant to protect ICE agents from being observed. To keep people from doing this, the agency has banned all drone operations within 300o feet (around a kilometer and a little over a half mile) from all DHS facilities and vehicle convoys.

But, as you can probably imagine, the FAA and DHS aren’t going to be publishing a daily list of places to not fly or otherwise letting drone pilots know where these invisible no fly zones are going to be. To to that would be to announce where ICE will be operating that day, and activists would be there waiting for them with whistles and other warnings for the targeted people.

The problem arises when these secret, surprise operations happen near someone legitimately flying a drone for business or public safety. An unsuspecting real estate photographer can be taking pictures of a house for sale when an bunch of ICE agents (some of whom have substandard federal law enforcement training) roll up on the next block to find the undocumented.

What the FAA and DHS aren’t probably going to say is that they still have prosecutorial discretion in these circumstances. If someone is a legitimate licensed commercial drone pilot or a legitimate recreational flyer doing something other than observing the agents, they’ll probably ask a couple of questions and then let the pilot go. The goal of this NOTAM is probably just to give ICE a way to deal with people who were specifically flying with the aim to get in the way or document ICE activities.

As we all know, the road to hell is often paved with supposedly good intentions. Poorly-trained agents, agents who are overworked, and agents who aren’t trained in what to do when they see a drone are often not going to respond with a reasonable measure of prosecutorial discretion. The NOTAM warns that ICE agents might “destroy” drones, arrest operators, and do many other negative things, and ICE isn’t known for being particularly careful about who they detain, arrest, or even physically harm.

I hesitate to bring this up, but I know from poking around on the internet that many licensed drone pilots carry firearms to protect themselves from whackjobs who think they’re being spied upon. Adding in misguided and possibly malicious federal agents who aren’t trained in how to safely handle these encounters turns this whole thing into a recipe for disaster and death.

It’s worth noting that before 2017, Presidents Obama deported millions, but never once decided to clear the sky of drone pilots or take any of these other “shock jock” tactics. It’s understandable that many people want the law to be enforced, but we don’t need to cause problems for honest people trying to make a living to accomplish that.

Featured image by the Department of Defense (public domain).