{"id":1418,"date":"2019-12-09T11:11:51","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T11:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dronesvilla.com\/?p=1418"},"modified":"2021-12-08T16:02:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T16:02:20","slug":"can-drones-be-shot-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dronesvilla.com\/can-drones-be-shot-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Drones Be Shot Down? Is It Legal to Do So?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Picture this: You hear a persistent buzz over your roof one\nafternoon, so you move outside to investigate what the problem could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You discover it is a drone buzzing over your property.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, you go back in, grab your shotgun and shoot that spy<\/a> out of the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had no reason to be buzzing over your property in the\nfirst place. You don\u2019t trust them and you they were disturbing your quiet\nenjoyment of your property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case closed, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, handling a case of disturbance by drone is a sure way to turn things against you fast \u2014 land you in trouble with the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what one resident of Long Island, Gerald Chasteen, realized when he shot his shotgun thrice at a DJI Mavic 2<\/a> Zoom that was operating near his property on February 23, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owners of the drone, surprised at the loss of connection\nto their drone, initially thought a bird had taken their device out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They followed the drone to its last recorded GPS location, and that led them to Gerald Chasteen who confirmed he had shot down their drone. He didn\u2019t believe they had a right to fly over his house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turned out the drone operators were not neighborhood scallywags being mischievious, as Gerald had thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were volunteers for a city-wide pet-rescue operation, Missing Angels, Long Island. And they had been scouting the neighborhood for a lost canine, when they connection to their drone suddenly disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you shoot down our drone?\u201d they enquired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, you cannot fly over my house,\u201d Gerald Chasteen replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law enforcement for Suffolk County were then promptly called in, and they charged Mr. Chasteen with third-degree criminal mischief and also prohibited operating of a weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerald Chasteen\u2019s case is by no means unique or new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are dozens of cases around the world where people have landed in trouble with the law because they decided to shoot down a drone when they felt it was flying where it should not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in 2015, a man in Kentucky was arrested by the police for firing a quadcopter out of the sky. The charges were later dropped in this shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people believe that they own the airspace above their\nproperty and end up in trouble when they try to exercise their \u201crights\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misconceptions that\nLead People to Shoot Drones Out of the Sky<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Those Drones Are\nSpying On You<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face it, there is something strangely intimidating\nabout a drone flying towards you or over your property. That is part of what\nmakes them so beautiful to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sight of them evokes the sort of dystopian fear of an all-knowing, all-seeing 1984 type regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the association that drones have with spying has proven impossible to shake in the mind of the wary public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the reality is the overwhelming majority of drones that\nyou are likely to come across will be doing the most innocent things possible\nlike filming the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spying is simply not likely to be what the drone over your\nhouse is up to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, the high-pitched noise of a drone is not the softest sound in the world, and would be terrible for any stealth mission like spying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, drones cameras are not the best when it comes to zoom and precision features, unless it’s top-of-the-range. Most recreational operators would have a hard time capturing worthy images from several hundred feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, you may worry if you realize one is buzzing out your window; but if you find one that is buzzing overhead it is most likely an enthusiast enjoying their device or a commercial pilot on a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drones Are Always Up to No Good<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Drones have gotten their own share of bad rep caused by\nunscrupulous individuals using them for all sorts of mischief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From prison <\/a><\/font><\/u>drop-offs<\/a> to air traffic disturbance, UAVs have been used to carry out malicious acts which have caused members of the public to look upon them with suspicion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is despite all the good that drones are used for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drones are taking center stage in the fight to save the environment,\nsearch and rescue, security, product delivery, and other noble causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact is that most drones you come across have a higher\nchance of being part of a noble endeavor than otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are either part of something completely innocent \u2014 like a hobbyist enjoying their hobby<\/em>, or they are making a positive change in your area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like searching for a dog gone missing, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Is Flying Over My Property So I Can Bring It If I Want To<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most people underestimate how complex this issue actually is because they fail to understand it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation pits the rights of landlords to quiet enjoyment of their land and privacy against the property rights of a drone operator to not have their property taken away or damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a property owner shoots down a drone flying over their property because they were not duly informed, these two rights are pitted against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another question that rises from this scenario involves\nsettling when the occasion is right for discharging a firearm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National laws regarding aircraft also have a say in the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landowners who end up shooting drones out the sky usually\nthink about three things that are not necessarily true:<\/p>\n\n\n\n