After a multi-year fight over its $10,000 civil penalty against
a drone pilot, the Federal Aviation Administration
("FAA") settled with Raphael Pirker for $1,100 in
connection with his operation of an unmanned aircraft system
("UAS," sometimes called "unmanned aerial
vehicles" or "drones") in October 2011.
The settlement ends a battle between Pirker and the federal
agency charged with keeping skies safe. The FAA had originally
fined Pirker, a videographer hired to provide aerial photographs
and video of the University of Virginia's campus, for allegedly
flying his Ritewing Zephyr in a careless or reckless manner near
people, property, and an active heliport.
Interestingly, the FAA did not explicitly penalize Pirker for his
commercial use of a UAS, but rather for the manner in which he
operated the drone. Pirker appealed the civil penalty
to a National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB")
administrative law judge ("ALJ"), who (somewhat
surprisingly) overturned the
