FAA Eliminates Warning Letters for Invisible DHS TFR Violations — What Drone Pilots Need to Know

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you this week. The FAA is escalating enforcement on the controversial DHS TFR, that same TFR is getting its first federal court challenge, and the Forest Service is updating their filming rules. Let’s get to it.

FAA Gives Serious Teeth to the Controversial DHS NOTAM

First up, the FAA has given some serious teeth to the controversial NOTAM. Back in January, we talked about the FAA issuing NOTAM FDC6-4375, which bans all drones within 3,000 feet laterally and 1,000 feet vertically of any Department of Homeland Security, DoD, or DOE mobile asset — including unmarked vehicles. The problem with this, as you probably guessed and as we said at the time, is that you can’t see this on B4UFLY or on LAANC. So it’s basically invisible to pilots.

The FAA also issued Order 2150.3C Change 13 at the end of January, which eliminates investigator discretion for airspace violations. That means if you’re caught in this invisible zone, investigators must refer your case directly to chief counsel for legal action. I’ll say that again: if you’re caught in one of these TFRs, the FAA’s aviation safety inspector must refer your case for legal action. There are no more warning letters — meaning your first offense could result in criminal charges, civil penalties, the seizure of your aircraft, and fines.

First Federal Court Challenge Filed Against the DHS TFR

On the same topic, this DHS TFR just received its first federal court challenge. Minneapolis-based photojournalist Rob Lavine, represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, has filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals directly challenging this NOTAM.

Lavine argues that the rule is unconstitutionally vague because there is no way of knowing in advance whether you’re flying near an unmarked federal vehicle. This restriction makes compliance structurally impossible for pilots who are trying to do the right thing. Lavine is also arguing that the FAA failed to follow the required notice-and-comment rulemaking process.

Reportedly, a revised NOTAM has already been drafted by the FAA, but another agency — widely believed to be DHS — is blocking its release. We’ll be watching this legal case very closely. It’s obviously pretty important to have rules that we can actually follow.

US Forest Service Updates Filming Rules Under the Explorer Act

Finally, the US Forest Service is officially updating its special use regulations to align with the new Explorer Act. In the past, you often needed a special use permit and had to pay fees for commercial filming, no matter how small your crew was. The updated rule creates three simple tiers for filming and still photography on National Forest Service lands.

First, if your activity involves one to five people, no permit or fee is required at all. Second, if you have six to eight people, you’ll need a de minimis use authorization, which is free — and the Forest Service is setting up a website for automated approvals. Finally, if you have more than eight people, you will need a standard permit and will have to pay a reasonable fee. This applies to all content creation, whether commercial or non-commercial.

Bonus: Georgia Drone Bill HB 205 Officially Tabled

As a bonus story, Georgia bill HB 205 was officially tabled as of this recording on Wednesday. That’s good news for many drone pilots, as the bill aimed to restrict the purchase and use of drones by state and local entities.

That’s all we’ve got for this week. Join us on Monday for Postflight where we’ll share our opinions on these stories, and we’ll see you in the live. Have a great weekend.

This article is based on a video by Pilot Institute on YouTube. Greg Reverdiau is a regular contributor to DroneXL. You can find more of his work on his DroneXL author page.