A drone recently crashed into a Florida condominium building, landing on a 17th floor balcony. The owner of the drone was hoping to get footage of the scenic Florida coastline. Unfortunately, the drone lost contact with the controller, which automatically engaged the “return to home” feature. However, the drone was unable to detect that the condominium building was in the path of the return to home.
The recent popularity of drones has raised many concerns about safety and privacy. Fortunately, there was no one on the balcony when the drone crashed; but the unit owner was worried that the drone was hovering by the unit and deliberately spying into the unit. However, the police did not find any evidence to substantiate this.
Because of these concerns about privacy and safety, some condominiums are enacting rules that prohibit the operation of drones on the condominium property. This rule would be binding on condominium owners and residents and their invitees, but unfortunately would not be able to stop drones that originate off the condominium property, as was the case in the Florida crash. Governmental legislation would be required to prohibit drones from flying in close proximity to residential properties.
Click here to see video footage of the Florida drone crash, which was released by local police.
