Legality Of Drones Still Up In The Air
By Amy E. Feldman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Drones. Legal or Illegal? It depends.
The Prime Minister of India is in the process of eliminating outdated laws, like the one that banned the flying of kites or balloons without police permission because they had been classified as an "aircraft" under a 1934 act.
That may sound silly today, but anyone who was a teenager in the 1980s can tell you that 99 red balloons floating in the summer sky will lead to unspeakable horror. Ha ha. Now you're humming it...
As aviation technology develops, though, the laws are somewhat slower to catch up in the US, as is the case today with the use of drones, which are unmanned aircraft that come in a variety of sizes that can carry cameras, surveillance equipment, or even weapons, to which laws apply.
The FAA ruled recently that drone use for business purposes will remain banned for the immediate future, but that hobbyist use is still OK for now, so long as drones are not weaponized, kept in your line of sight and clearly observable from your position on the ground.
The user should not fly them in the vicinity of spectators until they are confident that the model aircraft has proven airworthy to ensure they don't hit anyone or cause a war machine to spring to life.
