Man Flies Drone Outside Hospital & Gets Arrested

In a classic case of “what not to do when you’re bored”, a New York man was arrested after he decided to fly his drone outside of a New York hospital. According to the 49-year-old, he had just dropped off his mom for an appointment when he decided to get out his drone  (a DIJ Phantom 2) and fly it around the hospital. I guess the “real” problem began when the drone kept being spotted by doctors and medical staff outside of the hospital’s exam windows as they were examining patients. Staff called the police and the man was promptly arrested for illegal surveillance activities.

I don’t own a drone, but if I did, I don’t think I’d fly the thing outside of a hospital of all places, but that might just be me. The man has stated in a Facebook post that what he did was the result of a lapse in judgment and that the drone’s camera couldn’t glimpse anything through the hospital’s windows. Whether that last part’s true or not I cannot say – all I know is it seems the police might’ve thought they could see through the windows.

The FAA are going to have their hands full in the coming months and years with the availability of drones consistently on the rise. And, with hobbyists and businesses alike wanting to use drones for all they’re worth,

they can only expect to get busier. It might just prove to be a nightmare trying to regulate the use of drones everywhere.

What do you think? Should the man have been arrested? Do you think drones should be governed? Let us know your thoughts regarding this story in the comments section below!