Gunshot brings down $5,000 drone in Athens, photographer says

ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) – A neighborhood actual property photographer is warning others after he says his drone was shot down whereas he was engaged on a residential shoot.

Michael Gardner, an actual property photographer, stated he was flying his drone Saturday to {photograph} a house for a shopper off Lindsay Lane in Athens when he heard a gunshot.

“So I was shooting a house for a client in Athens off of Lindsay Lane. And I got my drone up in there doing my normal thing like I do. All of a sudden, I hear a gunshot,” Gardner stated.

Gardner stated he watched his gear go down by his controller feed.

“I look in my controller and my video feed is going crazy and it is crashing to the ground,” Gardner stated.

Gardner stated his $5,000 drone was down and he couldn’t discover it till two days later, when another person situated it.

“I’ve heard of people’s drones getting shot down. I have been threatened to have mine shot down by property owners not liking it flying over their property. But one thing that they don’t realize is they don’t own the airspace above the tallest blade of grass in their yard,” Gardner stated.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, taking pictures down a drone is illegitimate.

Gardner stated the act can also be harmful.

“If you shoot a drone, it can become a flaming fireball in the sky, more or less, because that battery punctures, it will ignite and it will catch on fire. And then with that being said, if that drone was to fall on somebody’s roof and catch their house on fire, well, then the person who shot the drone down can be held responsible,” Gardner stated.

Gardner stated he’s engaged on a police report and contacting the FAA in Birmingham. He stated the state of affairs might have been prevented with a dialog.

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