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Tourist fined $20,000 after his drone landed in Las Vegas airport

by 35 Comments

High Roller Observation Wheel is one of Las Vegas’ attractions many tourists want to visit and photograph. And a California tourist Reuben Burciaga probably took the most expensive picture of it ever. While he was flying his DJI Phantom 3 over the Ferris wheel, he lost control over the drone. The aircraft eventually landed on McCarran International Airport, so Burciaga was slapped with a fine of $20,000.

 

The incident occurred in June 2018, while Burciaga was flying over the Las Vegas strip. He was trying to take an aerial photo of the High Roller Observation Wheel at the LINQ when he allegedly lost control over the drone. “I went up to the parking structure at Caesars Palace and had no problem with GPS, the pilot told FOX 5 KVVU News. “It started acting weird and just took off.” The aircraft then drifted aimlessly for more than two miles, on an altitude of 450 feet. Finally, it landed on the McCarran airport, only a few feet away from an active runway.

The FAA tracked down the drone owner. It took a lot of effort, they say, as the registration number was inaccurate. It’s worth noting that flying over the Las Vegas strip requires permission from the FAA. Also, the McCarran airport isn’t a part of LAANC, so it also requires permission which you can get as a commercial pilot. Therefore, when Burciaga got his drone back in April this year, it was sent along with a letter from the FAA.

There are nine violations stated in the letter. They include flying a drone without permission in controlled airspace, flying over people and posing a hazard to other aircraft. Due to all this, Burciaga was given a fine of $14,700.

Burciaga admits that he deserves a fine, but he believes that $14,700 is excessive. “I don’t have the money to fight it, and I wouldn’t even have an idea how to fight it,” he told FOX 5 KVVU News. “That’s half of my year’s paycheck for trying to take a picture.” But wait, there’s more. According to the FAA, Burciaga could have appealed himself without even hiring an attorney, but time ran out. Furthermore, he reportedly didn’t pay the fee on time and ignored multiple letters from the FAA, so the fee has increased to about $20,000.

According to Burciaga, a more appropriate fine would be between $1,000 and $3,000, but the FAA doesn’t seem to agree. They say that this was a very serious incident and the pilot committed multiple violations. They say it was pure luck that the drone didn’t cause any crash or injured someone. “In this situation, the pilot committed a litany of serious violations and really flew the drone carelessly and recklessly,” the FAA spokesperson concluded. This is why the fine is so high, and what’s worse for Burciaga – it has even increased from the original amount.

Yes, it sure is a huge fine “for trying to take a picture.” But if your attempt of taking a picture breaks the law and puts other people in danger… Well, I believe that there’s no other way than being fined for it.

What do you think of this case? Is $20,000 way too much for Burciaga’s violations? Or it seems right to you?

[via DPReview; image credits: skeeze on Pixabay]

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  • Good for him, and he may end in jail.

    Edit: is that the drone he flew, look huge lol

  • Fuck no… Endangering the lives of others?…

    • Scott Stevenson stop being annoyed, none lost a life. Fines should go with someone’s status. If you give a 20k fine to someone who’s worth a million, that doesn’t hold any logic (and vice versa)!

    • Dicson Amanya what the hell is your problem? That guy endangered the lives of many people. Drones have nothing to do around airports. Is that guy your buddy or why are you defending him like that. Triggered much??

    • Dicson Amanya just because no-one died does not negate the seriousness of the crime. Fines are fines regardless, they’re flat for a reason. If someone died then there would be charges as well as the fine, most likely involuntary manslaughter, death by dangerous flying and probably a few others, maybe even jail time.

      As Martin said, if this was your friend I can understand a comment or two defending them but you just seem to be triggered for absolutely no reason.

      Given all the commotion around drones in the last few years anyone that’s flying one anywhere should know the local laws regarding them otherwise they deserve everything they get!

    • Dicson Amanya – There are certain situations which require stiffer penalties than others and you’re assuming I don’t think someone of greater means shouldn’t be required to pay even more… So what if no loss of life occurred. Threat to life was there and should be avoided. The person knew this and unless they’re special needs (in which case, where was the supervision), they were aware that they could hurt people and did what they did anyway.

  • That’s a good amount to pay. That’s 10 Sony A7iii….. not too crazy

  • Nope.

  • He could have gotten jail-time.He should have checked the rules before flying the drone. If you act like an idiot it’ll cost you.

  • Still too less had it resulted in an accident at the airport.

    • Jagpreet Singh a fine is not a compensation! Don’t be so mean!

  • How much is a jet turbine?

    • avei

      Basic overhaul for a PW118 is right around $850k for a bizjet, and right around $5.5M for a PW6122A used in the bigger airliners. A propeller and engine on a piston airplane is right around 50k, depending on the engine and propeller.

  • Nope had it coming.

  • No, should be fine + jail term. Getting in the airport was an accident, but from the start every action he took was illegal.

    • Valent Lau you crash, crash, ruthless! Give a chance man! A fine is not a compensation

  • Every action has a cost idiot.

  • Warren Rowe

    This is one reason why I don’t have (or need) a drone. Things can happen which prove costly.

  • Absolutely not.

    • An airspace incursion like that should be fucking jail time. Have you seen the videos of drone strike testing? Just destroyed wings

    • I know. It’s insane. Dudes lucky it didn’t get sucked into an engine

  • He should sue the drone company for making a faulty drone

  • No I think he should go to jail/prison for a long time. admittedly I would prefer him in a Swedish style prison rather than the hell holes in the USA. but that is another story.

  • I’m going to call b******* on the loss of control of his drone, he knew what he was doing

    • This is actually easy to check on the flight log.
      If the remote controller stick are moving, it will all be there.
      So, if there is return home pressed, that should be easy to see.

  • Appropriate. He is on video saying he knew he was breaking multiple regulations, yet chose to fly anyway with total disregard to the safety of people under his flight path and in the airplanes at the airport.

  • Intentionally broke the law and endangered thousands of people, should get jail time

  • no its not, if his drone hits a plane many will die

  • MercyGG

    All these people talking shit, I would love to imagine one of you assholes in his place, would be crying blood to get off those 20k of yourselves lmao

    • avei

      You can imagine, but most of us would not do the things he did. According the the FAA he made multiple flights that day. He was cited for careless and reckless operation. He was given a proposed fine of $14,500 for his activities. He was not fined $20,000 he is claiming, the difference is interest on the fine which he ignored and I guess simply thought would go away. If he had been stopped by the local police for driving careless and reckless on a public street, got cited and then ignored the ticket, he would be arrested and hauled off to the local hoosegow until his next court appearance or forced to post a hefty bond.

      FAA civil penalty rules and appeals procedures are very clear and well spelled out in EO 2150.3B. Most proposed FAA penalties include an informal meeting with an FAA attorney to discuss the violation and present mitigating circumstances. If the FAA felt that the offender was rehabilitatable, they may offer to reduce a civil penalty. He got hit with top dollar because he ignored the initial FAA contact letters. As far as I can tell, the post office still delivers certified, return receipt requested mail even in California. As the FAA can assess up to $50,000 $14,500 is on the low end. At the outset he should have retained an aviation lawyer, but could have gone to the FAA hat in hand, like he did in the one interview with his mea culpa, and likely a compromise would have been possible. It is clear from the various stories he did not.

      So what did he do?
      a. he did not notify the LAS tower of drone activities as required within 4 nm of an airport control zone.
      b. apparently he violated VIP TFR airspace, which is published.
      c. he operated over populated areas
      d. he operated within the movement area of an airport, over an active runway, without permission.

      When he got the attention of the FAA, he was appropriately notified and a civil penalty of $14,500 proposed.

      What didn’t he do?
      Contact the FAA to discuss the violations,
      Meet with the FAA in informal conference to mitigate the penalty
      Allowed the time to appeal to expire.
      Didn’t pay the fine and didn’t make an effort to talk to the FAA.
      Now he will pay the fine, eventually, and hopefully before the interest eats up any more of his paycheck.

      Most of us in this country would prefer that our countrymen obey reasonable laws and regulations designed to make living here safe and orderly. Probably the vast majority if you exclude California. And when they don’t, they pay a price go get their attention.

  • Jail him and set an example. Idiot.

  • Angelo

    So many people said that he deserved to go to jail, I don’t think so: he endangered several people, with his negligent behavior, that’s true, but in the end no one got harmed. So it’s not negligent homicide. And he for sure had no intention to harm anyone, so it’s not attempted homicide, either.

    I think a fair punishment would be to revoke his license to pilot a drone, along with the fine. If, in the future, he will try to pilot a drone without license, then he would deserve jail.

    Basically, I’d compare his behavior to reckless driving: at least in my country (although I know in U.S. it can be different), usually it’s punished with fine, and revoking of driving license, not with jail, unless someone is harmed.

  • Should have been more plus jail time. Imagine if a drone gets sucked in as a plane is taking off. If that doesn’t alarm you, imagine a loved one on that plane.

  • Should have gone to jail for endangering the public like that.

  • MercyGG

    All these people talking shit, I would love to imagine one of you assholes in his place, would be crying blood to get off those 20k of yourselves lmao

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