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[Neonivek]

Uh Neo, I pretty sure you're thinking of Rocky XD

Ohhh whoops

[Flying Dice]

http://www.wdrb.com/story/30354128/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone

There's already precedent around here. Stand yer ground.

Important things to note about that particular case:
1) He wasn't actually charged for shooting at a drone, he was charged for "wanton endangerment" caused by firing his gun within city limits.
2) That was still at the state level, since the FAA wasn't involved as the federal crime yet.
3) The fact that the drone was seen below the treeline by several people helped to classify it as an invasion of privacy, you can sure bet the amazon drones are going to be much higher.

In short, this is a nice precedent for shooting down low-flying drones that are hovering over your property, but pretty worthless as a precedent of you shooting down parcel-laden amazon air drones, and it's still confined to a state-only level, not a federal one.

That's sorta missing the point that I was making. The case explicitly assumes that a landowner has the right to take down a drone flying within their airspace, and additionally concluded that it was not criminal to discharge a firearm in the process of doing so.

Also note one of the attached articles: the drone owner submitted a video of the drone's flight path claiming to show the drone never descending below 200ft. and not hovering for longer than 30s over the other guy's property. The judge favored two people claiming to have seen the drone dip below the treeline and the owner describing the hover time as "long enough for me to get three shots off" and this:

“His claims are that the drone never got below 200 feet,” Merideth said on Thursday. “Number 8 bird shot is not going to take anything out at 200 feet.”

over that. It's a pretty darned permissive interpretation. All you appear to need to justify it is an eyewitness willing to claim that they saw the drone descend below 200ft.

And to be fair, I did say "where I live". 

In all seriousness though, this is why I expect Amazon drones to (as suggested) fly high and be fitted with GPS trackers and such to monitor altitude and position at all times.

[Neonivek]

It is kind of simple...

The drone isn't SUPPOSED to go under 200 feet because it is illegal... and the gun cannot shoot over 200 feet.

So if the person said their drone was under 200 feet, then the person is allowed to shoot it.

Yet if it was over 200 feet then the gun couldn't have shot it.

Pick your poison.

[Graknorke]

What if the drone was above 200 feet, and it still got shot? It's not as though it was thoroughly tested.

[Neonivek]

What if the drone was above 200 feet, and it still got shot? It's not as though it was thoroughly tested.

They probably have the bullet holes to show for it.

So even if a bullet did manage to escape its extreme range and hit it, fully possible, it wouldn't make the same impact.

Though what if the guy climbed a large tower to shoot it down? Or took is air balloon up?

[Flying Dice]

The shot broke one of the propeller blades. The main damage was from the fall.

[Neonivek]

drone legality is hanging more and more by a thread everyday

[EnigmaticHat]

drone legality is hanging more and more by a thread everyday

Watch out, the predator drones will fight for their freedom.

[Shadowlord]

Anyone working on birdlike drones? Just wondering.

[GiglameshDespair]

Anyone working on birdlike drones? Just wondering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l0xavWi7kU

[Graknorke]

Surely making it look like a bird just means that it'll get shot at by people who want to shoot birds.

[Shadowlord]

Ah, but there are birds which it is super illegal to shoot.

[Neonivek]

Ok I just want to make a quick shout out to horror movie makers

Please stop trying to make us hate all the characters. If you have to have an unlikable ass so people feel happy about them dying chose ONE.

To tell you the truth I actually find horror to be MORE scary the more likable characters there are... because it grounds it in reality. They are people just trying to survive in a situation that is far outside their ability to control.

When everyone is an unlikable ass moron, I know I am watching a movie.

[Flying Dice]

drone legality is hanging more and more by a thread everyday

Watch out, the predator drones will fight for their freedom.

If corporations can be real people, why can't drones?

Stop using drones as disposable cannon-fodder!

#dronelivesmatter

[Akura]

http://www.wdrb.com/story/30354128/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone

There's already precedent around here. Stand yer ground.

Important things to note about that particular case:
1) He wasn't actually charged for shooting at a drone, he was charged for "wanton endangerment" caused by firing his gun within city limits.
2) That was still at the state level, since the FAA wasn't involved as the federal crime yet.
3) The fact that the drone was seen below the treeline by several people helped to classify it as an invasion of privacy, you can sure bet the amazon drones are going to be much higher.

In short, this is a nice precedent for shooting down low-flying drones that are hovering over your property, but pretty worthless as a precedent of you shooting down parcel-laden amazon air drones, and it's still confined to a state-only level, not a federal one.

What about using really long sticks? And how they are going to know whom shot what? Are the drones going to carry cameras all recoding everything all the time? What about nets or traps? It's there a law about trapping a plane with a net? What if people sue Amazon for invasion of property while/if the drones pass over their houses? At which height must the drones fly to be considered not in the property but public air space (if that even exists)? What about the inevitable accidents of drones failing?

1) The exact law uses terms like "intent to disable" and "act of violence", so things like long sticks, nets, and traps are all covered under that blanket.
2) Based off the aforementioned ruling it looks like the current estimate for the "height limit" is "above the treeline", but we will no doubt see more clarifications there. Currently the only FAA limit on drones is that they have to stay under 500 ft.
3) We're looking at a similar conflict for property trespassing. Current "precedents" for how much air you own above your property go from around 80 feet to 500 feet (which is the current height of drone travel, and the point where the air becomes a public space by law), so who knows how that will go down. I'd be willing to bet Amazon has a very nice legal team prepared to fight it out though.
4) Most drones constantly transmit flight data, so it suddenly going down over your property is a big hint, and when your neighbors all report that the shots were coming from that person's property and you now have a shiny new blender it's a pretty good indication that something was going on. A lot of drones do also carry cameras as well, which would be another nail in the coffin.
5) For accidents there's still a lot up in the air. Depending on how rulings go we could have anything from a "if it crashed and did damage then you've got to pay for it" to "it's up to the victim to prove you weren't doing your fullest extent to prevent the crash or you don't have to pay". As for the actual drone itself, it differs from area to area, with some saying that the property is yours unless the owner (in this case Amazon) shows up to claim it within a certain period, while others say that you have to turn it in to the government until that period has expired (after which they give it back to you).

Another fact about that case was that the drone's flight recorder had it above the treeline. I actually find it unfortunate that judge went with the people who said that it looked like it was below. Recorder data tends to be far better in terms of evidence than eyewitness testimony.

Also, wow, the comments on that article are pretty toxic. What kind of readerbase does that site have?