# What is the law on shooting down drones?



## DatacomGuy (Dec 10, 2016)

Wife called me in a panic this morning while I was running errands; drone was hovering over our house.

Given our latest theft and security concerns, this is extremely unnerving and i'm CensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensored. 

So do I have rights to the airspace above my property?


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## riverbank (Dec 10, 2016)

Pretty sure it's illegal. But I'm also pretty sure it's against the law to be hovering one over someone's home. If I saw one hovering over my place I'd try to follow it back to the owner and have a real nice conversation with him.


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## DatacomGuy (Dec 10, 2016)

Will be on the hunt as soon as I get home.


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## Bobby Jackson (Dec 10, 2016)

I think last year they passed a law making drone owners apply for FAA #assign numbers..That also gave the drone owners federal FAA protection(s)..
Pretty sure firing on a drone now is a big big mistake..

It could be prosecuted the same as firing on a airplane now


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## 2LeftFeet (Dec 10, 2016)

DatacomGuy said:


> So do I have rights to the airspace above my property?



It depends...

Is the drone within the boundaries of your property?
Do you have reason to believe that someone was shooting video/images or in fear of your life or your families life if the thing fell out of the sky or the operator lost control and crashed? 

We are still working, as a country, to figure out the legalities of this relatively new technology. 

There was a case last year ( link )



> William Merideth in July said he saw a drone flying above his property in Hillview, Kentucky.
> 
> He believed it was spying on his 16-year-old daughter who was sunbathing in the garden. So he took out his shotgun and blasted the drone out of the sky. *He was arrested for wanton endangerment and criminal mischief.*



...later



> The drone's owner, David Boggs, had produced flight data that insisted his machine had been flying higher than Merideth had claimed.
> 
> The judge, however, seems not a fan of big data. She's a woman of the people. She declared that two human witnesses saw the drone below the tree line. This evidence was, to her, conclusive. To her, this was an invasion of Merideth's privacy.



There are viable industries now that use drones as a major part of their model. Real estate photographers are a good example. With drone technologies, you can now take a 360 virtual tour of the yard, see a view of the property from above. 

Highly advanced drones are available now at fairly obtainable prices. They can be operated nearly autonomously, you can lay out a path on a map and send the drone off to follow it, the drone will track its altitude and flight path while recording video. 

While we, as a country, figure this out, you have a right to defend your property and family, in doing so, though, it may result in a trip to jail and some attorney costs.


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## sinclair1 (Dec 10, 2016)

Realtors are using them as well as other trades as tools, so chances are it's nothing to be concerned over. We had one over the house when our neighbor listed to get a shot, but to get the shot they had to come on my side some. 

A local roof company is advertising the no walk roof inspections with drones as well.

Most have such a small zone, they probably live within .10 mile if not used for business.


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## WayneB (Dec 10, 2016)

I have one for work, and many for hobby fun.
 Range is approximately 1500 ft, line of sight. Some radio transmitters are good close to a mile, the video downlink is not.
I wouldn't shoot it, however popping a round or 5 into the ground will certainly get some attention, and likely the operator will beat feet.
True that the FAA has required licensure, however you have to have the drone in hand to read the registration number.
Should it crash on your property, you have the perceived right to ask to see footage taken while over your property. Don't be confrontational, appear curious about the technology and the operator will want to show off what it can do.

Prepare to be underwhelmed, the field of view sucks. Imaging is limited to a fisheye style lens, regardless of still or video.

Its okay for an overview, but no real detail will be present, and especially not on a phone or tablet screen during operation.


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## caughtinarut (Dec 10, 2016)

Bobby Jackson said:


> I think last year they passed a law making drone owners apply for FAA #assign numbers..That also gave the drone owners federal FAA protection(s)..



Depends on the weight of the drone.


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## NE GA Pappy (Dec 10, 2016)

caughtinarut said:


> Depends on the weight of the drone.



this

don't know the particulars of shooting one down, but shooting up in the air in a residential area it not a good idea. ever.


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## WayneB (Dec 10, 2016)

caughtinarut said:


> Depends on the weight of the drone.



yep, .55 lb and larger. basically all the higher end not dollar store cheap drones.


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## Josey (Dec 11, 2016)

You don't own the footprint of your property all the way up to outer space.  You only own the part of which you can reasonably use.  That part is law.  However, I do believe courts would consider anything below treetop level to be yours.

Destroying someone's property on your property can be considered criminal trespass (or something similar).  If someone parks along the street and their tire happens to be on your grass, you cannot legally slash their tire or shoot the vehicle.

I'm not defending drones flying over and around anyone's property.  People who do that are either pretty sorry, or really stupid (or both).  But the law is the law.  And if a drone were peeking into your windows, I don't think cops would arrest you for destroying it, as long as the method you used to destroy it wasn't illegal in itself.

If you shoot one down, you'd be wise to make sure nobody saw or heard you doing it.  Including the camera on the drone.

I like the idea of taking one down with another r/c aircraft.  I might even sacrifice my helicopter or one of my planes to obliterate a drone that was bothering me over my property.

"Oops - I thought I would join you up there.  I'm soooo sorry that I accidentally flew into your drone".


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## DatacomGuy (Dec 11, 2016)

Heh.

Love the discussion.. Thanks guys. Never found the owner.

I live in the middle of nowhere. No real estate for sale, no homes to inspect. Just heavily wooded rolling hills.  Very possible that its a hobbyist, but given the shady activity around here i'm most definitely going to be paranoid about it. Unfortunately.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 11, 2016)

Folks, this is the On Topic Forum.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Dec 11, 2016)

Here's an article about this topic. Makes it clear as mud. 

http://www.walb.com/story/30231457/can-you-shoot-down-drones-maybe


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## DatacomGuy (Dec 12, 2016)

Nicodemus said:


> Folks, this is the On Topic Forum.



I'm new 'round here. Are there rules being broken?


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## Big7 (Dec 12, 2016)

DatacomGuy said:


> I'm new 'round here. Are there rules being broken?



He might have cleaned up the thread before posting the warning.


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## Paymaster (Dec 12, 2016)

DatacomGuy said:


> Curse words? Illegal ideas?
> 
> You may be right - quite a few replies missing.



Silly and off topic replies will be removed. This forum was created for folks to have a serious discussion without the drivel found in the Campfire Forum. Rules for this forum are "Stuck" at the top.


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## 95g atl (Jan 3, 2017)

Gosh, I would be worried about someone "casing" out your property with the drone if you are in the middle of nowhere...  Would love to legally be able to shoot one down...believe that is illegal.

Like the others say, I would want to find out where the person controlling the drone is.  Make contact, get tag #, take pic of him/her.  

They are sometimes difficult to follow by motor vehicle.  If there is nothing around, you probably have to run after it....listen and run some more.  They have an audible sound.  I had heard one several months ago fly over my house on a few acres.  Didn't raise too much fuss because it kept going.  Figured someone in the green space/park was testing it.


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## Anvil Head (Jan 4, 2017)

Looks like a lot of counties are going to start using them for tax assessment in the near future. Ain't that nice?!


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## 95g atl (Jan 4, 2017)

Anvil Head said:


> Looks like a lot of counties are going to start using them for tax assessment in the near future. Ain't that nice?!



Any law against giving them the finger OR spraying a drone with a high pressure hose?

Not that I would want to upset the county.....perhaps for personal drones with the high pressure water hose?


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## PappyHoel (Jan 4, 2017)

We've discussed this topic at length in the PF.  It's illegal to shoot them and there are cases where folks have been prosecuted.  

Some of y'all should borrow Sinclairs and see what you can see.  I have a high end one.  You can't see in windows when you hover right in front of them.  You will struggle to see detail when it's up at 100 feet.  Lots of paranoia surrounds these drones and I'm the paranoid guy.  

Mines not registered because no one can tell me what registering it prevents.


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## sinclair1 (Jan 4, 2017)

PappyHoel said:


> We've discussed this topic at length in the PF.  It's illegal to shoot them and there are cases where folks have been prosecuted.
> 
> Some of y'all should borrow Sinclairs and see what you can see.  I have a high end one.  You can't see in windows when you hover right in front of them.  You will struggle to see detail when it's up at 100 feet.  Lots of paranoia surrounds these drones and I'm the paranoid guy.
> 
> Mines not registered because no one can tell me what registering it prevents.


theres really not much to see as far as intel, like you said paranoid, but also maybe just feel violated by something out of your control. I get that.
http://forum.gon.com/showpost.php?p=9199325&postcount=46


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## 95g atl (Jan 4, 2017)

flynlow said:


> You must have one heckofa high pressure considering most people are flying them above treetop level up to 400' legally.



The ones I have seen are barely above tree tops. Perhaps 100-120 ft

400 feet is 123 yards. At that distance I don't believe bird shot would be very effective.


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## beginnersluck (Jan 5, 2017)

We have used them to film practices for our high school football...You can place them anywhere and at any height.  Video is better than most might suggest...Not HDTV, but a gopro/bluetooth camera with zoom on a drone is pretty impressive.  Don't know the true legality of shooting one, but I would assume airspace is public, and it's no different than someone standing on the edge of your property with a high zoom video camera...it may have changed, but as long as there is no sound capture, it is purely legal.


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