Nigel_
Captain
Flight distance : 388642 ft
United Kingdom
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justin_mcvideo Posted at 2018-8-20 08:34
If 30 feet is too close to the structure, then there MUST be a minimum distance stated somewhere in the rules. Otherwise, the "safe distance" is very subjective.
Maybe I missed it somewhere in these responses and various links, but if there is a minimum distance rule from structures or people, I will follow it in the future. Is it 100 feet? 200 feet? There has got to be a number, because opinions and suggestions don't matter against FAA rules. Did I miss the minimum number somewhere? Honest question.
I had a quick look at your rules, just out of interest, since from what has been posted they seem to be lacking in safety requirements.
However there are a couple of safety rules that you do need to comply with, they are not drone rules but do apply to all aircraft including drones and it doesn't matter if you consider your drone to be a model aircraft or not. I believe from your first post photo that you would have a very hard time convincing a court that you have complied with them when you can't even convince other drone pilots!
I think this one is quite clear, but leaves the question of if those people where in danger or not, based on the response of other pilots I suggest that they were:
§91.13 Careless or reckless operation.
(a) Aircraft operations for the purpose of air navigation. No person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.
This one gives you a limit of 500ft to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure, also requires that you can perform an emergency landing "without undue hazard to people...", and that you can't fly lower than 1000 feet above an open air assembly of persons, which I think you did:
§91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.
Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:
(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.
(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
However there is an exception for helicopters and weight shift aircraft, presumably a drone is a "weight shift aircraft":
(d) Helicopters, powered parachutes, and weight-shift-control aircraft. If the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface—
(1) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, provided each person operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA; and
(2) A powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section.
This time, you are not just concerned about the peoples lives, but about any hazard to those people or property. I don't see how you could claim that there was no hazard at all to those people in the photo and so I conclude that the flight was illegal, although I would count that area as a congested area so you were not allowed to fly lower than 1000 ft anyway.
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