On July 27, 2017 I operated my drone DJI Inspire 2 X5S from a boat for "Linea Blu" show for Italian RAI TV Channel.
It was a second day operating a drone in NYC harbor for this show. During first day we filmed The Amerigo Vespucci ship which was built in 1931. On that first day I worked together with my friend Eliana. We used DJI Mavic and DJI Phantom 3 Pro. We had to launch from a small boat ant it was very tricky to launch big drone like DJI Inspire 2.
During second day we had to film New York City sights: Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Ellis Island and a boat that we were cruising on. Eliana wasn’t available and I took my wife Mariya to operate camera and be a PA. This was a first time when I operated Inspire 2 from a boat (Brianna Yacht). First take off wasn't successful and the drone flipped upside down. I tried to take off from the boat’s surface but the boat was shaking on waves. The drone damaged 2 new carbon fiber folding propellers, but they didn't break. So I could continue flying using the same props.
For the rest flights we were taking off and landing using handles and catching the drone in the air. I2 is a beast and my wife and camera operator was scared to do that, but she did perfectly fine.
We filmed the Statue of Liberty close to the end of our shoot. Here is the map of our flight:
We did few takes with different focal length using Olympus 14-42mm zoom lens and few different movements.
Then we got closer to Ellis Island, to film it and a Police boat from the Statue of Liberty approached us. They politely asked the director what we’re doing and etc. At that time I had the drone in the air filming Ellis Island. We had to land the drone and talk to police. I showed them my FAA license and business card. They got my driver license and went to their boat. When they got back the policeman said, that they didn’t know what to do with us and he called their chef. The chef said to give us a ticket "Violation of Closure Operating Unmanned Aircraft" 36 CFR 1.5F Fine $100 + $30 processing fee. The fine wasn't that big, but I felt that I operated legally and didn't want to pay.
I did call to the number on the ticket to find out how I can appeal it. They told me do not pay and I'll get invitation to appear in court. That is what I did. After a while I got a letter from the United States District Court with date (December 19, 2017) and time to appear. At the court I spoke with a free federal defender Sylvie. She offered me that they will dismiss the ticket if I'm not going to violate any laws in 6 months. I declined the offer and asked if they can dismiss it now. And I mentioned that there was no law about operating a drone close to the statue of liberty. And I mentioned that FAA added unauthorized drone operations over 10 Department of the Interior (DOI) sites, including the Statue of Liberty on October 5, 2017. Sylvie said that she will do a research on this topic and we will meet again on February 20, 2018. In January I got another letter from the court to appear.
On Feb 20, 2018 I met Sylvie again in the court. She said that she did a research and there were no restrictions operating a drone except the one which became effective on October 5, 2017. She got my print out of FAA restriction from Oct 5, 2017, airdata map of my operation and asked me to wait in a hallway. She went to the court room. She got back in ~10 minutes and said congratulations, your tickets was dismissed!
It is always good to know current laws and restrictions and follow them.
UT CINEMA LLC Drone pilots are FAA (Part 107) Licensed, Follows all Federal and Local Drone Regulations and carry insurance. Drone videography service in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania areas. Also we can travel to any part of the world and we follow drone laws and regulations in all countries.