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Bounty Hunters Told: Don't Shoot Down Drones
Apparently Peoplewho attempt to shoot down unmanned drones are putting the public in danger andcould face prosecution, the Federal Aviation Authority has said.The unusual clarification by the FAA was made after a smallrural Colorado town said it was considering paying bounties to anyone whoshoots down an unmanned drone.
The ranching and farming community of Deer Trail, 55 miles eastof Denver, said it might give its 600 residents the option of buying a $25hunting licence to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles.
Bounties used to be paid to hunters who killed animals thatpreyed on livestock, but only after they produced the ears.
This time round the town would pay $100 to anyone who producesthe fuselage and tail of a downed drone.But the FAA has now released a statement warning people not to fire at any aircraft, unmanned or otherwise.
A spokesperson said a drone "hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air".
"Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane," they added.
The plans to offer bounties to people who shoot drones was crafted by Deer Trail resident Phillip Steel, a 48-year-old US Army veteran with a master's degree in business administration, who acknowledges the whimsical nature of his proposal.
He said the expansion of drones for commercial and government use was alarming.
"We don't want to become a surveillance society," he said, while admitting he had not seen any drones as yet, but that "some local ranchers" outside the town limits had.
Under his proposal, hunters could legally shoot down a drone flying under 1,000ft with a 12-gauge or smaller shotgun.
Only in America.......
Apparently Peoplewho attempt to shoot down unmanned drones are putting the public in danger andcould face prosecution, the Federal Aviation Authority has said.The unusual clarification by the FAA was made after a smallrural Colorado town said it was considering paying bounties to anyone whoshoots down an unmanned drone.
The ranching and farming community of Deer Trail, 55 miles eastof Denver, said it might give its 600 residents the option of buying a $25hunting licence to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles.
Bounties used to be paid to hunters who killed animals thatpreyed on livestock, but only after they produced the ears.
This time round the town would pay $100 to anyone who producesthe fuselage and tail of a downed drone.But the FAA has now released a statement warning people not to fire at any aircraft, unmanned or otherwise.
A spokesperson said a drone "hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air".
"Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane," they added.
The plans to offer bounties to people who shoot drones was crafted by Deer Trail resident Phillip Steel, a 48-year-old US Army veteran with a master's degree in business administration, who acknowledges the whimsical nature of his proposal.
He said the expansion of drones for commercial and government use was alarming.
"We don't want to become a surveillance society," he said, while admitting he had not seen any drones as yet, but that "some local ranchers" outside the town limits had.
Under his proposal, hunters could legally shoot down a drone flying under 1,000ft with a 12-gauge or smaller shotgun.
Only in America.......
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