Idk if anyone had a similar problem before, but I live in EU by the countryside, at first there were only a few but now it happens more and more often to see drones passing over my house, I am sure they are civilian drones because law enforcement has no reason to use them since the area is quiet (and honestly I doubt they would be able to do so), however it bothers me enough to know that there are people who get over the fence and enter my property going to look at what they want, does anyone have any advice on what to do?
This works if they fly low enough
Portsmouth Ohio, fat redneck throwing a bottle of shit Australian beer and the police not executing a no knock warrant and murdering him for his crimes?
I call bullshit.
I think you have the legal right to prohibit flying above your property. Do it, make a sign and report everyone who violates it to the police. Flying on someone’s property with a camera drone is illegal anyways.
EDIT: Also check if you legally can physically eliminate the drone in that case. It’s the most effective strategy.
OP is in EU, but here in the US property owners do not have rights to airspace.
However, spying with cameras or nuisance noise would be reasons for legal action.
Not in the US. You can report it to the police and the FAA, but it’s a federal felony offense to shoot down any aircraft, regardless of whether it’s a $100 drone or multi-million dollar full on airplane. But like the other poster said, voyeurism and harassment laws still apply. And also, if the pilot is out of sight of the drone, that’s a hefty FAA violation (assuming they don’t have a specific FAA waiver that’s hard to get) and something you can report.
In the US, you own the airspace up to the highest point of your property, including structures (and maybe trees). You also technically own your underground property to the center of the earth, but you may not have mineral rights to it.
you own the airspace up to the highest point of your property
Nope. Part 103 pilots often fly inches off the ground and it’s totally legal- usually farm fields. This is called class G airspace and extends from surface to 700 or 1200 ft AGL. The United States government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace in the US from the surface up, and any citizen has the right of transit through that airspace.
Honest question, but I couldn’t help but package it sarcastically:
How would you report that? Catch the drone and ask who it’s owner is? Ask the police to do a 100 man wide area search around your house?
New drones being sold in the USA are equipped with something called remote ID. In theory, it enables law enforcement to wirelessly identity the drone, who it’s registered with, and where the pilot is standing. This is very new though, and very few, if any, police departments have the tools needed to make use of it. It’s also possible to read remote ID from phones, but without the database, it only gives you so much info. Owners of older drones are supposed to attach a remote ID module to them in order to maintain legal flying, but someone being voyeuristic with their older drone probably isn’t following the rules.
EDIT: Also check if you legally can physically eliminate the drone in that case. It’s the most effective strategy.
Just tell the police you were clay pigeon shooting and the drone flew into your path.
That’s incorrect. At least as a generalization. For example: In The Netherlands, you do not own the airspace above your property. The EU laws for drones do state that you can’t just film people without permission, though. Operators of camera drones also need to register and get an operator id.
Drone pilot from Germany here, they have no place hovering over your property, more strictly even they’re not allowed to fly in any way that allows them to view your garden from above. You can shoot down the drone and it’s their problem note that this is in Germany not the US (which surprised me tbh).
However, that said, could be that it’s the same pilot again and again, even if it’s different birds. Normally they are very cooperative, just ask them to stop and they’ll apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Since op didn’t mention seeing a pilot, I’d suspect that the drones are flown out of sight. So asking them to stop can be difficult. Of course asking nicely, by downing a drone, might get the message across.
I wonder if I could shoot down drones here in Denmark as well.
Flying out of sight only underlines the illegality of the act. In Germany you need to keep relatively near to your drone and technically need to be able to fly by sight only (so can’t stand in a building/car and then not see your drone).
Same in DK, and my comment was meant to underline that. If you see a drone and no operator is around, then something is definitely wrong.
I mean, years ago, I had a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ drift away, on account of my own inexperience and stupidity. This was right when it had just come out, and way before drone licenses and laws forbidding drone flights in populated areas. So no laws were broken; and it was done with no malicious intent… But these days?
Not even the DK police, who have some very well-trained drone operators, can fly their drones out of sight.
Seeing a drone with no operator once? Something might have gone wrong, let’s not judge too harshly, but seeing a drone with no operator regularly? On your property? If you have a hunting permit, a shotgun, and a clear shot, then it might be a good time to practice your anti air skills.
FAA Certified drone pilot in the USA here. That’s wild. In the US it’s illegal to shoot down an aircraft of any sort no matter the type or who is flying it. And also, the Federal Aviation Administration is the only authority in the US when it comes to airspace, and as long as you have authorization from the FAA or are in uncontrolled space, you can fly over anyone’s property. However, that doesn’t give you the right to voyeurism or harassment. If you are intentionally spying on things that are normally considered private (peeking in a window, for instance) or repeatedly or specifically bugging a specific individual or family, then you can still be charged with those crimes. Also, unless you have a specific waiver that’s rather hard to get, you have to be within line of sight of your drone. If the drone pilot is not following the rules, they can be hit with hefty fines. Even though drones can be bought easily, there’s still strict rules that the FAA has for both recreational and professional flying, and anyone operating a drone outside those can and should be reported.
FAA Certified drone pilot in the USA here. That’s wild. In the US it’s illegal to shoot down an aircraft of any sort
That’s even wilder to me, since you have several states where you are allowed to shoot anyone trespassing on your property, but a drone, who can record and video and infringe on your privacy is illegal?!
That’s like prime capitalism. Human lives are worthless, but don’t damage my property. What?
Yeah, that’s fair. I think the main reasoning is that shooting something out of the air can cause it to crash on people or light stuff on fire. I also don’t like the “stand your ground” and “castle doctrine” laws, so I think both shooting people and shooting drones should be illegal.
It’s because it counts as an aircraft. Getting licenced to use your drone for anything more than “wooo, flyin mah drone” covers a lot of the same stuff a private pilot would know like reading the maps, airport landing procedure, and airspace. They treat it like an actual airplane. And you can’t just start blasting at airplanes because they flew over your house. If it’s doing more than just flying over it has to be addressed legally.
Jesus F Christ, what???/some random bullets.flying through the air ? Some kid a few blocks over shot whikie playing in the yard, thats ok, was shooting at some asshats drone but missed?
Juat moon the drone and be done with it, like a sane person
Get yourself a little beehive OP.
Every time you see a drone, report it for killing your bees, sit back and watch the EU busybodies go fuckin mental about it
The cunt who’s doing it will be in The Hague within a week 😂
The best bet is to let your local aviation authority know. They are generally the ones with the actual powers, as well as the knowledge to apply them.
At least in the UK, the laws cover anything that leaves the ground under an open sky. There are exceptions for RC toys and drones, but they have limits. One of the limits is you cannot fly within a certain distance of anyone or anything not under your control.
Basically, most places require your permission to fly over, or near to your land. If they are overflying, they are breaking the rules.
It’s worth noting, depending on the size of the system, it can be difficult to judge distances. The ones I work with are large. We regularly have officials insisting we are massively out of our flight area. GPS logs show that it was well within the entire time.
