The FAA says safety and not media suppression was behind temporary flight restrictions that were imposed on drone flights over the site of a massive pipeline protest in North Dakota. In a statement released Monday, the agency said it’s just trying to keep drones from hitting law enforcement helicopters patrolling the Standing Rock protest and to protect people on the ground. The FAA statement follows in its entirety.
The Federal Aviation Administration carefully considers requests from law enforcement and other entities before establishing Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in U.S. airspace. The TFR currently over the pipeline protest was approved to ensure the safety of aircraft in support of law enforcement and the safety of people on the ground. The TFR includes provisions for media to operate aircraft – both traditional and unmanned – inside the TFR, provided that operators comply with the language of the Notice to Airmen. In the case of unmanned aircraft, operators must also comply with the requirements of Part 107 and coordinate beforehand with the FAA. We’ve had no requests from media who meet those requirements.
Although the FAA is aware of anecdotal reports of drones being shot down, the agency has received only one official report. On Oct. 23, a drone was shot down with bean bags after allegedly being flown in a threatening manner near a law enforcement helicopter. That incident is still under investigation. The agency also is investigating several incidents in which protestors have allegedly flown their drones in violation of the provisions of the TFR.
The agency took issue with an AVweb report based on a Forbes column concerning the Standing Rock TFR. The original story contained an error. It said The Associated Press had transcripts of controller conversations indicating the TFRs were intended for media suppression. In fact, the transcripts referred to were made in regard to a TFR over the Ferguson, Missouri, riots in 2014. AVweb regrets the error.
