A New York congressman having
his wedding recorded via drone has prompted new hissy fits from the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who is still insisting on
the authority and ability to shove genies back into bottles and
manhandle horses back into barns. And it has an amusing twist, the
Associated Press notes. The congressman is on the subcommittee that
oversees the FAA:
The agency’s carefully worded statement doesn’t mention Rep.
Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., by name, but said it was looking into
“a report of an unmanned aircraft operation in Cold Spring, New
York, on June 21 to determine if there was any violation of federal
regulations or airspace restrictions.”Maloney has acknowledged hiring a photographer to produce a
video of his wedding using a camera mounted on a small drone. The
wedding took place in Cold Spring on June 21. Maloney is a member
of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s aviation
subcommittee, which oversees the FAA.Top agency officials have testified extensively before Congress
about their concern that commercial drones could collide with
manned aircraft or injure people on the ground. Congress has been
pressing the FAA to move faster on creating regulations that will
allow commercial drones access to U.S. skies. The agency has been
working on regulations for about a decade.
As I’ve previously noted, the FAA said it will be
another decade or longer for those regulations. In the
meantime, as this case shows, commercial enterprises are
incorporating drones and resisting the FAA’s efforts to leave them
grounded for 20 years while it gets its act together. Maybe the FAA
investigating the company that orbited Maloney’s nuptials will
prompt Congress to push for timely commercial regulations and not
some poorly conceived, likely unenforceable, challenged in court,
blanket ban. (But then I’m sure the regulations will be awful as
well, with absurd licensing and fee schemes and rent-seeking up the
wazoo.)
The most hilarious response to Maloney having a drone hovering
over some church in New York comes from the reporting by the
New York Daily News. They contacted the office of
Maloney’s challenger, Nan Hayworth, the Republican whom Maloney
beat in 2012 to get into office. Proving there’s absolutely nothing
a candidate won’t use to make his or her opponent appear dangerous
or out of touch with the electorate, spokesman E. O’Brien Murray
tosses on a pearl necklace and
clutches away like nobody’s business:
“Clearly Sean Patrick Maloney doesn’t think that the rules apply
to him, despite the fact that such rules come from the FAA that he
helps oversee from his position on the Transportation &
Infrastructure committee,” Murray said.‘Unfortunately, this is exactly what people are so frustrated
with when it comes to Washington politicians. Sean Patrick Maloney
thinks he is above the men and women in the Hudson Valley he
represents.”
Well, the guy did manage to snag a fireworks show at his wedding
as well, so there is that. At least they didn’t gay-bait him
(Maloney married a dude). Anyway, you can watch the actual drone
video yourself below and decide whether this is anything for the
FAA to get all upset about:
Previously, Zenon Evans
noted a safety panic about drones and police helicopters in New
York City that appeared a bit overblown.
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