You know drones are getting popular when the
Federal Aviation Administration has to ban them from the Super Bowl.
That’s right, folks, if you’ve got a ticket for the
big game on Sunday and were planning on taking your DJI Phantom for a spin in
the third quarter (course you were), then you’d better think again. The FAA,
and the cops no doubt, won’t take too kindly to such behavior, though
pinpointing you in a crowd of 70,000 may admittedly prove a bit of a challenge.
The agency in charge of the nation’s skies this
week rolled out a 15-second ‘no drone zone’ video ad (above) reminding people
that taking a quadcopter to Super Bowl XLIX really isn’t a good idea. In fact,
drone flights will be banned within 30 miles of Glendale’s University of
Phoenix Stadium – that’s right, 30 miles – from 3.25pm till midnight on Sunday.
The FAA said in a directive issued this week:
“All unmanned aircraft operations – also known as
drones – are prohibited within the restricted areas. These include model
aircraft operations, model rocketry and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Anyone
who operates an unmanned aircraft in the restricted area could face civil
penalties or criminal charges.“
Actually, the agency slapped restrictions on drone
flights in and near stadiums last October, though the rules for Sunday cover a
much wider area and last a lot longer.
The FAA has also been laying down other rules
regarding the recreational use of drones, though clearly not everyone takes
notice. Despite a ban on drone flights over the whole of Washington, D.C., an
inebriated government worker this week crashed his remotely operated flying
machine onto the lawn of the White House no less, causing a security scare in
the process.
Drone flight bans around all of the nation’s
airports are occasionally violated, too, a situation the FAA is keen to get
under control before some blockhead accidentally sends his airborne toy into
the engine of a passenger plane.
The last time we heard about a quadcopter causing
havoc at a professional sports event was in Europe last year when a quadcopter
flew over an international soccer game between Serbia and Albania. The incident
caused a mass brawl on the field that led to the fixture being abandoned,
though admittedly the drone was carrying a political banner that served to stir
up tensions between soccer players from two countries with a history of
strained relations.
This article originally appeared on Fox News.
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