Errant Drone Pilot Fined $20,000 | Aviation International News

Errant Drone Pilot Fined $20,000

Reuben Burciaga was fined $20,000 by the FAA after his out-of-control drone landed next to Las Vegas runway.

By Mark Huber • Contributor

November 26, 2019

The FAA has fined the pilot of an errant recreational drone $20,000 for landing next to an active runway in Las Vegas. Reuben Burciaga lost control of his DJI Phantom 3 shortly after launching it from a parking garage in June 2018 and flying toward the 550-foot tall passenger observation wheel at the Linq Hotel’s open-air entertainment complex on the Las Vegas strip. It then continued to fly on its own, uncontrolled, at an altitude up to 450 feet agl until landing at the airport. The garage was within the normal five-mile drone exclusion area around McCarran International Airport.

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