FAA names and shames drone pilots hit with fines up to $36,770 in 2025 enforcement sweep

The FAA posted a public enforcement summary to its social media accounts on February 6, detailing fines and license actions against drone operators for violations spanning 2023 through 2025. The agency’s tone was blunt.

“The FAA will take decisive action against drone operators who ignore safety rules or operate without authorization,” said FAA Chief Counsel Liam McKenna.

Here is what you need to know:

• The development: The FAA issued fines ranging from $1,771 to $36,770 across 18 operations and took license enforcement actions against eight remote pilots in 2025.
• The policy shift: The FAA updated its enforcement policy in 2026 to require legal action when drone operations endanger the public, violate airspace restrictions, or are conducted in connection with another crime.
• The penalty ceiling: Under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, drone operators who fly unsafely or without authorization face fines up to $75,000 per violation.
• The source: FAA newsroom announcement, February 6, 2026.

The fines target wildfires, stadiums, and restricted presidential airspace

The FAA’s enforcement summary covers 18 operations with violations between 2023 and 2025. The largest fine, $36,770, went to an operator who flew a drone near emergency response aircraft during a wildfire on April 4, 2023. That is the kind of violation that grounds firefighting helicopters, delays retardant drops, and can get people killed. We have been covering the wildfire drone incursion problem for years, and Congress is now actively studying whether to give firefighters the authority to disable or destroy drones in active fire zones.

Two of the fines involved Mar-a-Lago. One operator was fined $20,371 for flying in restricted airspace near the property on January 13, 2025. A separate operator had their license revoked entirely for a restricted airspace violation near Mar-a-Lago on September 7, 2025. Presidential TFRs are not suggestions. They are national defense airspace, and violating them can trigger responses that go well beyond an FAA fine.

A $20,370 fine was issued for operating a drone over people at the Sunfest Music Festival in West Palm Beach, Florida, on May 5, 2024. That flight ended with the drone hitting a tree. Another operator was fined $14,790 for flying near State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, during Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023. With Super Bowl LX happening tomorrow in Santa Clara, the timing of this announcement is clearly deliberate.

License suspensions and revocations hit drone show operators and stadium violators

Beyond fines, the FAA took license enforcement actions against eight remote pilots in 2025. The most alarming case involved a drone that became entangled with a paraglider on January 7, 2025, forcing the paraglider pilot to make an emergency landing. That operator’s license was suspended.

The FAA also suspended the license of an operator involved in a drone light show at Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida, on December 21, 2024. That incident sent a 7-year-old boy to the hospital for emergency open-heart surgery after drones collided mid-air and fell into a crowd of 25,000 spectators. The NTSB investigation found a failed data transfer and a 7-degree position misalignment caused the crash.

Another license was suspended for flying a drone over people during an NFL game in Baltimore on November 3, 2024. The NFL has documented more than 2,000 drone incursions per season for each of the past three years, a statistic that directly drove the passage of the SAFER SKIES Act in the FY 2026 NDAA, which for the first time authorizes state and local police to detect, track, and potentially disable drones at major events.

The FAA’s updated enforcement policy changes the calculation for violators

The FAA’s updated 2026 enforcement policy now requires legal action in three specific scenarios: when drone operations endanger the public, when they violate airspace restrictions, or when they are conducted in connection with another crime. That last category is new and worth paying attention to. It means the FAA will no longer treat drone-facilitated crimes as simple airspace violations. If you use a drone to deliver contraband, surveil someone illegally, or support any other criminal activity, the enforcement response will be qualitatively different.

This policy shift builds on a pattern we have been tracking. In August 2024, the FAA proposed $341,413 in civil penalties against 27 drone operators. In November 2024, a Colorado real estate developer was hit with a $270,000 FAA fine for using drones to harass unhoused people. And in February 2025, Philadelphia drone pilot Michael DiCiurcio (AKA PhillyDroneLife) was permanently banned from flying drones in the United States after years of violations that started with $182,000 in proposed fines back in 2020.

The FAA is also encouraging the public to report unsafe drone operations to their local Flight Standards District Office. The agency says it reviews all credible reports and investigates when appropriate.

The Facebook comments tell a familiar story

The FAA posted this enforcement summary on its Facebook page, where it picked up 780 likes, 134 comments, and 153 shares within 12 hours. The comment section is predictable. One commenter asked how many of the violations came from “the actual RC hobby of line of site flite” versus other types of drone operations. The answer, based on the FAA’s own data, is that these cases overwhelmingly involve operators flying without authorization in restricted airspace, near emergency operations, or over crowds. The traditional line-of-sight RC hobby community is not the problem here.

But that frustration is real. Recreational pilots who follow the rules feel grouped in with operators who fly drones into wildfires and Super Bowl airspace. Every one of these enforcement actions makes the regulatory environment harder for everyone, including the responsible pilots who never make the news.

DroneXL’s Take

The FAA dropped this enforcement summary the day before Super Bowl LX. That is not a coincidence. It is a warning shot aimed at anyone thinking about flying a drone near Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara tomorrow. The agency wants the story in the news cycle right now, and the $14,790 fine from the 2023 Super Bowl is the proof point.

What concerns me more is the pattern underneath the headline numbers. The updated enforcement policy requiring legal action for drone-facilitated crimes signals that the FAA is done treating serious violations as administrative matters. Combined with the NDAA’s new counter-drone authorities and the Trump executive orders directing the FAA to crack down on illegal drone activity, the enforcement infrastructure is expanding fast.

Two days ago, we reported on a surveying operator who unknowingly grounded a LifeFlight helicopter carrying a critically ill child in Utah. That pilot did not know they were causing a problem. They were not flying recklessly. They simply lacked situational awareness. That is the kind of case that worries me most, because no amount of enforcement will fix an awareness gap.

I expect enforcement actions to accelerate through 2026, especially around the FIFA World Cup this summer. The FAA and DHS are building counter-drone capabilities for that event right now, and every incursion between now and kickoff will be used to justify expanded authorities. If you are a Part 107 pilot, double-check your airspace authorizations. If you are recreational, use B4UFLY before every flight. The FAA is watching, and the days of warnings before fines are over.

Editorial Note: AI tools were used to assist with research and archive retrieval for this article. All reporting, analysis, and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.