A UK drone pilot has been fined nearly $4,500 for an illegal flight that, among many other consequences, forced a money-time professional soccer match to be halted after the craft hovered low over players.
The illicit flight occurred on May 7, when it caused the referee to clear the pitch during a semi-final game between home side Chesterfield and visiting Bromley, who were battling for promotion from England’s fifth-level pro National League. During the second half, a drone flew over the stadium and its crowd of 9,600 – at one point hovered about 20 feet above the pitch – which under standing rules required play to be stopped.
Yesterday, a court in North East Derbyshire court slapped pilot Lewis Franks £3,500 ($4,478) for the array of illegalities the outing involved, but was oddly comforting in its accompanying comments.
Read: Another English pro soccer match halted by a drone in the stadium
In addition to violating laws against operating drones around or over organized soccer matches, the court sanctioned Frank for breaking restrictions on overflying people and beyond visual line of sight missions, failing to register as a drone pilot, and the attendant no-no of lacking that license to present to police as demanded.
As a demonstration of his incalcitrant flair in behind his illegal UAV sortie, Franks also admitted to having driven a borrowed car without insurance to get to and leave the Chesterfield stadium area. While at the wheel, he also failed to stop when summoned by cops who busted him for having disrupted the crunch soccer match (which the home team eventually won, before blowing its chances to move up to the higher division the following weekend).
Drone flights over English professional soccer matches have become a problem as the availability of affordable craft has increased, along with the desire of pilots to film crystal-clear crowd, stadium, and pitch footage. For that reason – similar to punishments meted out in the US to people who deploy drones at professional soccer or baseball games – UK courts have tended to come down relatively hard on errant UAV outings.
According to reports, Franks’ May 7 aerial antics were only the most recent the 27-year-old had been responsible for, antecedents that were taken into account in the penalties levied for his varying offenses.
Oddly, however, while the financial sanction Franks suffered was fairly hardcore, magistrate Jennifer Wood seemed almost pained in addressing the reckless pilot for what he claimed was his ignorance of rules prohibiting drone flights during soccer matches.
“It’s not my job to lecture you… (and) you are not a criminal for this – we have seen far worse – but it was dangerous,” Wood said, presumably biting her lips to prevent “boys will be boys” from escaping them. “It seems a shame that you are not going to fly your drone again. I would say, license it, learn how to fly it properly, and get the enjoyment out of it that you clearly want.”
Then, finding her inner Hanging Judge, Wood really let Franks have both barrels.
“We’ve been fair with you, and from my perspective, it’s been very interesting,” Wood almost certainly did not growl. “It’s fun for you and we get why, but you have to be properly trained and have to be properly licensed.”
Read: English pro soccer match delayed by illegal drone flight
Local accounts did not reveal whether Franks was spotted leaving the courthouse with a grin on his face, and planning his next flight to coincide with Chesterfield’s 2023-24 season opener.
Image: Karl Greif/Unsplash
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