Drone News: Remote ID, Police Drone Shot Down, Felony Charges Flying Over NFL, and the Super Bowl

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update, we have 4 stories for you
this week: Remote ID for the DJI minis, an armed suspect escaped
police after shooting down a drone, a man faces felony charges
after flying over NFL game, and the Super Bowl is a
No-Drone-Zone.


First up this week is an update on Remote ID for the Mini 3, Mini
3 Pro, and Mini 4 Pro. Last week we covered that DJI’s latest
firmware update that removed remote ID when using the small
batteries. This firmware update applies to ONLY the Mini 3 and
the Mini 4 Pro at this time, if you have the Mini 3 Pro, the
drone will transmit RID with both batteries. For the other two
drones (The Mini 3 and the Mini 4 Pro) we reached out to DJI.
After meeting with DJI we found out that each drone is considered
two models, one with each battery. The large battery will
transmit remote ID, while the other battery does not. Only the
drone and larger battery is approved by the FAA. We’ll be
publishing a full video on this topic soon and we’ll place a card
here when it’s time!
https://dronexl.co/2024/02/02/dji-clarifies-mini-drones-rid-compliance/
Next up this week is kind of a scary one out of California.
Police with a warrant were conducting surveillance with a drone
in Shasta County on a man wanted for multiple felonies including
assault with a deadly weapon. During the operation, the wanted
man shot the drone down. A SWAT team was deployed along with
California highway patrol, but the man escaped and remains at
large. The incident is a great example of how drones put cameras
in harms way instead of people.
https://dronexl.co/2024/02/02/suspect-shooting-law-enforcement-drone/
Third up this week is likely one you’ve seen, a man is facing
felony charges after illegally operating a drone at a NFL game in
Maryland. Matthew Hebert allegedly flew his drone over the
M&T Bank stadium during a TFR on January 28th, 2024. The NFL
suspended the game due to the drone while Maryland State Police
and the FBI located the drone pilot. The pilot advised police he
relied exclusively on DJI’s built in geofencing to tell him where
he could and couldn’t fly and that because no DJI restrictions
were in place, he assumed he could fly. The drone was
unregistered and Hebert does not possess a remote pilot
certificate. If convicted, the maximum sentence is three years in
federal prison for operating as an airman without an airman
certificate and operating an unregistered drone. Another charge
of willfully violating US National Defense Airspace would add
another possible year to the charge. We’ll keep you updated if we
see anything else about this.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/pennsylvania-man-facing-federal-felony-charges-illegally-operating-drone-during-national?fbclid=IwAR240Cf8I9ZA5rX4dOaBMUisUFlfgFqEVd93Y9ONw5uwUm7wMMChuyn4Uac
On the same topic, the Super Bowl is this weekend… if you’re in
Las Vegas, there is a 30 NM TFR around the game… The FBI WILL be
visiting pilots who bust this TFR… Don’t bust it! Las Vegas has a
number of drone detection stations around the city, don’t think
that you won’t get caught… Don’t be that guy, check the TFRs
before you fly!
https://dronexl.co/2024/02/05/las-vegas-no-drone-zone-super-bowl-faa/
Alright, that’s it, have a great weekend and we’ll see you next
week!