Drone video of Great Tennessee Airshow 2021 under FAA investigation

A Drone Video of the Great Tennessee Airshow 2021 is allegedly under investigation by a number of government agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Drone video of Great Tennessee Airshow 2021 under investigation

Two days ago this video was uploaded to the Internet by Scout UAS. The video is almost 10-minutes long and shows footage of the Great Tennessee Airshow 2021 recorded with a drone.

The airshow took place on June 5th and 6th, 2021 at Smyrna Airport in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Early on in the video, the creator points out that:

“All FAA and Airport Permissions, Waivers, and Submissions were completed, received, and approved for this documentation. Pilot maintained low elevation at all times.”

However, we have been informed by a very reliable source who is close to the FAA that this video is currently under investigation by multiple government agencies, including the FAA.

As you can see in the drone video, various fighter jets fly close by at high speeds and seemingly at the same altitude as the drone and at times even lower.

As per the FAA drone rules, unmanned aircraft need to give way to manned aviation, and cannot be flown in a reckless manner. Based on the footage in the video it appears that some of the FAA rules might indeed have been broken.

“This type of event always hurts the UAS industry and those who are careful to share the airspace safely, especially during an airshow. The event was under a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) and it appears this person wasn’t in contact with the airboss in charge of the TFR, sometimes flying at what appears to be the same altitude as the performers. They would have never seen the drone and this could have had a dramatic ending,” said Greg Reverdiau from the Pilot Institute.

It is not the first time we have seen a drone video that was shot dangerously close to manned aviation. Remember this story from last year when a drone got really close to the Blue Angels during the Detroit America Strong Flyover?

We will update this article as more information becomes available.

To be absolutely clear, this video was not recorded by DroneXL. We do not promote or condone irresponsible, dangerous, and/or illegal drone flying.

To learn more about flying drones safely and responsibly in the United States, check out these websites from the FAA:

• https://www.faa.gov/uas/
• https://faadronezone.faa.gov/#/

In anticipation of the video being removed from the Internet, DroneXL has downloaded and uploaded the video to YouTube.

Get your Part 107 Certificate

Pass the test and take to the skies with the Pilot Institute. We have helped thousands of people become airplane and commercial drone pilots. Our courses are designed by industry experts to help you pass FAA tests and achieve your dreams.

Stay in touch!

If you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest drone news, scoops, rumors, and reviews follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or…

Subscribe to our Daily Drone News email.*

Submit tips If you have information or tips that you would like to share with us, feel free to submit them here. Support DroneXL.co: You can support DroneXL.co by using these links when you make your next drone purchase: Adorama, Amazon, B&H, BestBuy, eBay, DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec. We make a small commission when you do so at no additional expense to you. Thank you for helping DroneXL grow! FTC: DroneXL.co uses affiliate links that generate income.

* We do not sell, share, rent out or spam your email, ever. Our email goes out on weekdays around 5:30 p.m.