Citizens Warned Not To Fly Drones Near Airports
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Federal and local officials are asking the public not to fly drones at U.S. airports.
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) joined Miami-Dade commissioners Friday morning in their plea.
"Miami is fourth in the nation in drone incidents with aircraft in the past year. That should tell you something," said Nelson. "This senator is worried about the incident of a drone and an aircraft beyond one mile from the airport."
While at Miami International Airport (MIA), they asked the public to be aware of restrictions against flying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), also known as drones at any U.S. airport.
"You have to worry about the intended person with a drone that doesn't know and all of a sudden starts flying the drone in the path of an inbound or an outbound aircraft," said Nelson.
A drone is considered an aircraft by government agencies. This means anyone flying one near an airport is subject to federal laws and regulations.
The FAA says, nationwide, there were more than 700 incidents in which a pilot, air traffic or citizens had to deal with drones between November 2014 and August 2015.
Click here for more information on regulations and policies on drones.