Caused Aircraft To Grounded For Nearly An Hour

A suspect has been arrested for allegedly flying a private drone over the Goodwin Fire in Yavapai County, AZ.

The suspect is 54-year-old Gene Alan Carpenter from Prescott Valley. He allegedly flew his drone into an area where 14 firefighting aircraft were operating, causing them to be grounded for about an hour, according to television station KPNX.

Carpenter was arrested on June 30, according to the U.S. Forest Service and the report. Witnesses said that the drone was first spotted flying near the fire on June 24, and a man matching Carpenter's description was seen again near a van that had a drone in the back.

Deputies with the Yavapai County, AZ Sheriff's Department said they used witness information, a description of the drone, as well as photos posted on his website of the fire as probable cause to track him down. He was arrested on June 30. The van and the drone were confiscated.

But he apparently was not the only person to fly a drone near the fire. The National Forest Service posted on its website that the latest sighting of a drone near the fire was July 4th, when a helicopter flying over the fire was forced to return the airport for safety reasons.

Forest Service officials continue to emphasize that flying drones over or in close proximity to wildfires is illegal, endangers aviators as well as crews on the ground, and slows operations which potentially could result in the fire increasing in size. Flying a drone near a wildfire is, in fact, breaking the law. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 43 CFR 9212.1(f) – indicates that it is illegal to resist or interfere with the efforts of firefighter(s) to extinguish a fire.

Drone operators also need to be aware that the Forest Service generally requests a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) from the Federal Aviation Administration on all fires when the Forest Service has aircraft responding. A TFR is a certain area of airspace where air travel is limited because of a temporary hazardous condition, such as a wildfire. The rules and regulations regarding which aircraft can enter a TFR can be found in 14 CFR 91.137(a)(2).

All unauthorized unmanned aircraft systems flights over wildfires on National Forest System lands will be reported to the FAA and law enforcement agencies. Drone operators determined to have endangered manned aircraft or people on the ground and/or interfered with wildfire suppression may be subject to civil penalties, including fines of up to $25,000, and potentially criminal prosecution.

With regard to aerial firefighting operations, all authorized aircraft on an incident maintain radio communication with each other to safely coordinate their missions, but aerial firefighting flight crews have no way to communicate with drone operators.

(Source: U.S. Forest Service and as cited. Image provided by the Yavapai County, AZ Sheriff's Department)

FMI: Original Report