Video Captured Over State Capitol, Which Is In Class D Airspace

Video captured by a drone of the Connecticut Capitol used in a campaign piece for Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Joe Visconti may land the candidate in hot water.

The Connecticut Post reports that the footage was posted on YouTube Sunday. The Capitol is near both Hartford Brainard Airport and Hartford Hospital, which has a helipad for LifeStar medevac flight. That puts the building in Class D airspace.

While Connecticut Office of Legislative Management facilities administrator Eric Connery said it did not grant permission for Visconti of anyone on his campaign to made a flyover of the Capitol, the candidate says the campaign used "free" stock footage for the video because production deadlines made it impossible to get permission for the flight.

"It was shot legally," Visconti said.

But Peter Sachs, author of the Drone Law Journal said that the video is not "stock" footage. He says it was captured by an FAA-licensed drone pilot to is a friend of Sachs'. He accuses Visconti of using the footage without permission. Visconti said his campaign is now talking to the owner of the video to purchase rights for its use.

FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said it is legal to fly a drone over the Capitol if an FAA waiver is obtained. The city has no formal drone policy.

(Image from YouTube video)

FMI: Original Report