FAA Violation in Florida Serves as Cautionary Tale for Drone Dealers

A large drone dealer in Florida allegedly violated several FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations in a case that serves as a harsh reminder to be up to speed on rules and required paperwork before flying drones or hosting clinics.

In this particular case, the FAA rescinded the dealer's part 137 exemption, meaning it can no longer fly drones weighing over 55 pounds, as detailed in an article by drone law attorney Jonathan Rupprecht of Palm Beach County, Fla. A total of 7 alleged violations are listed in Rupprecht's article. 

We reached out to HTS Ag president Adam Gittins, who's familiar with this case, for some background on the incident and why the FAA dropped the hammer. 

"A large dealer and distributor of drones advertised on its website that it was doing drone training for a DJI-T40, which is over 55 pounds, a critical number with the FAA," Gittins says. "Anything under 55 pounds is considered a small UAS (unmanned aircraft system) and has a completely different set of requirements."

The FAA decided to conduct in-person surveillance on the event after seeing the advertisement online. When FAA safety inspectors showed up, they saw a group of non-employees participating in drone training activities. The FAA says it observed the pilot flying the drone closer than 100 feet from a non-participating farmer, which would also be a violation. 

"The FAA asked the pilot in command for the registration information of the aircraft because there was no registration number on it," Gittins says. "It turns out the aircraft was never registered. The FAA visited the business the next day, and it was able to provide most of the paperwork. The day after the FAA showed up, the dealer submitted registration for the aircraft. The FAA ultimately ended up rescinding the dealer's part 137, and it can no longer fly a drone over 55 pounds. The FAA has left this case open, and because the pilot lied to the officials, it opens him up to criminal charges — up to 3 years in jail potentially and possibly up to six figures worth of fines."

Gittins, whose Harlan, Iowa-based dealership sells Autel and DJI drone products, says it's an unfortunate situation for a good company that could've been prevented if it just took care of the basics. He likens it to a person driving a car on the wrong side of the road without a driver's license and registration.

"There were a whole bunch of small things that should be fairly simple and easy to do that weren't taken care of, which led to the FAA taking action," Gittins says. "In my experience with the FAA, their goal and desire is to educate people. They don't want to take action against people. I've seen them offer a tremendous amount of grace to people that just didn't know the rules. This is something, especially a large company, should've known.

"It should serve as a warning to everyone else flying a drone that it's very important to have your documentation in place and that you are following FAA regulations," Gittins adds. "I think we're going to see more and more of these situations. The FAA is very interested in keeping the air space safe, and they consider it a serious offense when people are not following the regulations."