Chinese Tourist Arrested in Merritt Island NWR For Flying a Drone
Chinese Tourist Arrested in Merritt Island NWR For Flying a Drone
The entrance to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is clearly marked: drones are not allowed.
Arrest and charges
Xiaodong: A criminal complaint was filed in Orlando in a case that began with a routine drone alert on a Saturday evening and ended with a family of four being escorted off federal property.
46307 and operating an aircraft without an airman's certificate under 49 U.S.C. 46306(b)(7). Both are misdemeanors.
The complaint was sworn before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Hoffman Price.
This is not the first time someone has been arrested for flying a drone over the Cape.
We covered this story last year: Drone Operator Pleads Guilty Unlawful Photography At Cape Canaveral SFS According to an affidavit by NASA Office of Inspector General Special Agent Christine Beers, Kennedy Space Center Security Police responded to a drone notification on the evening of July 25 and found He operating a DJI Mavic 4 Pro at the Playalinda Beach Vista #8 parking lot.
Charges and court proceedings
A Chinese tourist who flew a consumer drone from a Playalinda Beach parking lot in July is now facing federal charges after the aircraft climbed above the tree line and recorded video of Kennedy Space Center.
The charges, filed August 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida under case number 6:26-mj-1933, charges He with violation of National Defense Airspace under 49 U.S.C.
