Whether you are using drones or permitting the use of drones on your property, here are the legal considerations you need to know first.
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Is my use legal?
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Federal Law governs operation of the drones and pilot requirements.
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State Laws, to the extent they do not conflict with Federal Law, must also be adhered to.
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Currently 41 states have state laws governing drones.
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There has been state drone legislation every year since 2013.
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State laws may govern privacy issue.
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Does the drone operator understand the federal AND state legal limits of the drone usage?
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Does the drone operator understand the non-drone specific laws that might impact the drone usage such as invasion of privacy/improper video recording type laws?
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Is the operator/pilot in command properly certified by the FAA?
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Will there be one or more Visual Observers / Spotters?
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Is there a plan for clearing the overflight area of people and keeping it clear during the drone flight?
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Have the proper pre-flight checks been done?
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Drone condition.
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Weather.
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Location of people on the ground.
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Other ground hazards.
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Has everyone involved been informed about:
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Operating conditions.
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Emergency Procedures.
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Contingency Procedures.
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Roles and Responsibilities.
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Potential Hazards.
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Has proper insurance been obtained?
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Some polities exclude coverage for unmanned aircraft.
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Some policies partially include coverage.
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Some provide coverage.
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If you are using a drone, or permitting the use of a drone by others, you can not simply assume there is coverage under existing policies.
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Raise the issue with your broker/agent and review the policies of those using drones on your property.
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Drone use should be logged.
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Operators and their qualifications.
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Visual observers and their locations.
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The flight plan.
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The pre-flight check.
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Notifying everyone at the project site about the drone usage and the areas to avoid.
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Obtain written permission to use a drone on someone else’s property.
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Log the permission given to use the drone on your property (limits, dates, duration, etc.).
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10 days to report certain accidents involving serious injury to any person or loss of consciousness or damage to any property over $500.
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Various states rules of evidence may preclude you from deleting drone video footage especially if it contains evidence related to a potential legal claim when there is a substantial chance of litigation (i.e. video of the drone colliding with a person or object that causes serious personal injury or property damage).