Trouble Over Buckeye Country

A Columbus, Ohio man is facing jail-time for operating a drone over Ohio Stadium—high-altar of the famed Ohio State Buckeyes football program. The alleged tomfoolery preceded the Buckeyes’ September trouncing of the Wisconsin Badgers.

According to the case’s affidavit record [obtained by an Ohio television station], detectives from the Columbus Police Department’s Counter Terrorism Unit spotted a drone above Ohio Stadium at approximately 09:00 EST on the morning of 24 September 2022. The contraption flew south and landed in the Lincoln Tower Park practice fields—an expanse of athletic fields and outdoor basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts.

Arriving at the fields, detectives encountered the drone’s pilot, 34-year-old James Fentress, who admitted he held neither a TRUST certificate nor operator certification under FAA Part 107.

The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) is a didactic and testing program devised to meet FAA regulations requiring all recreational Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)—aka Drone—operators to pass an aeronautical knowledge and safety test.

Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations is a set of rules governing the commercial operation of Unmanned Aerial Systems massing less than 55-pounds (24.94-kilograms). Part 107 also establishes certification criteria for commercial UAS operators. Part 107 certification—often referred to as a drone license in the reductionist argot of America’s 21st Century youths—allows UAS operators to hold out to and charge the public for drone services such as aerial inspections and mapping, as well as aerial photos and videos shot via drone. Licensed UAS operators are authorized to fly their drones at or below four-hundred-feet AGL within the operator’s line of sight during daylight hours or in twilight provided the gadget is kitted out with anti-collision lighting. Excepting instances in which special permission has been granted by the FAA, Part 107 certificate holders may not operate UASs in controlled airspace.

Fentress was accused of operating an aircraft without a valid aviator’s license and violating air traffic rules.

From one-hour before to one-hour after Ohio State football games—which draw crowds in excess of 102,000 people—temporary flight restrictions are enacted within a three-statute-miles radius of, and to an altitude of three-thousand-feet above Ohio Stadium. The affidavit, however, records Fentress operating his drone over Ohio Stadium ten-hours prior to the scheduled 19:30 EST kickoff. What’s more, a check of germane aeronautical charts established incontrovertibly that Ohio Stadium stands within uncontrolled airspace.

The Franklin County Municipal Court—despite dismissing charges of violating air traffic regulations—indicted Fentress on two counts of operating an aircraft without a valid license. At his November arraignment, Fentress pleaded not guilty, and is now awaiting a 29 December pre-trial hearing. If convicted, he could face up to ninety-days in prison, a fine of up to $500, or both.

Notwithstanding prohibitive laws and diligent police personnel, attendees of major Ohio sporting events have demonstrated a marked propensity for the illicit mixing of drones and team spirit. On 15 January 2021, 24-year-old Dailon Dabney flew a drone into Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium during a Bengals-Raiders playoff game and posted the aerial video footage to YouTube. Not to be outdone, 38-year-old Travis Lenhoff intruded upon the Cincinnati Reds’ 2021 season/home-opener at Great American Ball Park with an unscheduled and unsanctioned drone flight. Both men were indicted by grand juries and charged with federal crimes.

FMI: www.faa.gov