No-fly zone

No-fly+zone

From staff reports

WSU is strictly enforcing federal restriction of drones within a 5-mile radius of any airport zone. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set this regulation to ensure the safety of manned aircrafts that could be harmed with the use of recreational drones.

The FAA and WSU Police Department seek to ensure both the safety of aircraft operators and privacy of residents on campus and in the Pullman-Moscow area. WSU PD is reminding all students who returned to campus with drones to use caution when flying.

WSU Assistant Police Chief Steve Hansen said these regulations are set for the safety of everybody, and unmanned drones are potentially dangerous when flying in competition with occupied aircraft.

Another potential problem with flying unmanned aircraft is privacy. Drones with built-in cameras may capture footage which could not be captured from the ground.

“You can sit there, in theory, and hover it outside of someone’s room,” Hansen said.

Hansen said these drones are a unique problem and education should remain consistent on the proper ways and places to fly them.

Because there is a concern for residents’ privacy and the safety of manned aircraft, the FAA, airport management and campus police want to urge all drone operators to take the correct precautions when flying.

Marketing director at the Spokane International Airport, Todd Woodard, said drones are not a direct threat to human life, but battery explosions are potentially threatening to the safety of people on land and in the air.

The FAA created an application drone operators can use with registration to help determine where these restricted areas are. Operators can use the B4UFLY app to get informative maps and links with resources on FAA regulation. You can find this app for iOS in the App Store and on Android devices via the Google Play store. For more information on drone restrictions,go to faa.gov. 

Reporting by Jamie Jones