Has Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium become a hub of illegal drone activity during the National Football League (NFL) Ravens’ home games? It’s starting to sound that way, with news that several more UAVs were active on November 16 than the craft that famously caused that day’s contest to be suspended.
On field officials halted that Thursday night game between the Ravens and visiting Cincinnati Bengals twice, applying NFL rules evoked when drones are identified flying in stadiums – which in this case involved a craft above the playing surface itself. Though much coverage of those incidents focused on the operator – who claimed not to have known use of the craft is prohibited in or around arenas during games – and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) investigation into the disruption, it turns out there was a lot more to the story that initially reported.
According to an account published this week by the Baltimore Sun, authorities identified four other drones being flown that night in violation of NFL and FAA bans on operating the craft within three miles of stadiums from the period an hour before games start to sixty minutes after they end. In other words, the pilot who caused the delay was in good and rather crowded company in illegally flying his UAV during the prime-time event that night.
“It actually was the fifth drone we had that night,” Vernon Conaway Jr., vice president of safety and security for the stadium authority told the Sun. “We had four other drones. They didn’t fly above the seating bowl. We were able to locate the owners and explain to them that it’s prohibited activity.”
Whether due to ignorance, insouciance, or willful defiance, drone flights during games are becoming a big problem not only for the NFL, but also for other professional sports leagues. Major League Baseball (MLB) encounters have also repeatedly been halted due to illicit presence of craft – including a playoff match-up – as well as National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) contests.
Just last month, for example, a UAV pilot was busted for operating a drone over an Ohio State and Maryland football game, which under NCAA rules also forced a delay as the field was cleared. Prior to the Nov. 16 Baltimore incident, meanwhile, NFL officials had said there’d been around 2,500 illegal UAV flights around NFL stadiums last season, nearly double the previous year.
The good news is the reason officials in Baltimore know there were several drones aloft in addition to the previously reported craft is due to the effectiveness of the UAV detection and identification system installed at M&T Bank Stadium following a 2021 aerial invasion. Similar tech at other venues means prohibited flights are quickly spotted, situated, and ended at those as well.
The bad news is laws rarely permit local or state authorities to punish violators of FAA restrictions. That means it’s up to the famously over-worked and under-staffed regulator to investigate and mete out the maximum $30,000 fines to brazen offenders who rarely suffer anywhere near that kind financial slap-down for their behavior. That relative immunity in paying for those airspace invasions may explain why drone violations at NFL, MLB, NCAA, and other pro events are steadily rising despite increased outcry.
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