BBC Photographer Arrested While Operating Drone Mid-Flight; Police Land Drone Themselves

30 Jan 2015 • diyphotography.net

While there are a few really interesting things happening in this story, what I find to be the most curious is the situation in general and how much potential it has for really pushing lawmakers to establish and/or clarify the policy and procedures surrounding the usage of drones. To recap: a man who underwent several months of mandated training and licensing to learn to fly a drone safely was arrested while operating a drone mid-flight (very close to an airport, over a burning building where there were many firemen, officers, and residents on the ground), the controls of the drone are then taken over by an officer who has no reported history of ever flying a drone or having gone through training to do so. Is it just me or does the potential for further disaster here seem entirely plausible?

We do really need to figure this stuff out soon.