Using a drone to take pictures of your neighbor is a crime! Here is the breakdown in Tennessee.

A basic situation might go as follows:

A neighbor, we will call him Snoop, had purchased a small aircraft with four propellers at a local electronics store. The important feature with this drone was that it was equipped with a camera. While Snoop was flying his drone over the property owned by neighbor, who we will call Citizen, he happened to see people swimming in the pool. Snoop clicked a few pictures of Citizen’s pool and yard area then promptly flew the drone back to his own property. Citizen called the police to report the incident.

Is flying a drone illegal in Nashville or Tennessee?

In this situation, maybe. This could be considered a crime under the amended statute of Tenn. Code. Ann. § 39-14-405(d). The amendment came in July 1, 2014 that changed subsection (d) of the statute. The statute formerly only included the language of “entire body.” The statue as amended includes the new language of “or when a person causes an unmanned aircraft to enter that portion of the airspace above the owner’s land not regulated as navigable airspace by the federal aviation administration.”

A violation of this statute is considered a class C misdemeanor. A class C misdemeanor includes punishment of up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.

Drone Legislation in Tennessee

It is important to note that on April 20, 2015, the legislature enacted an amendment to Tenn. Code. Ann. § 39-13-902(a) to film fireworks displays and the like without the consent of the owner of the venue.

It is also amended to make it an offense to film an outdoor event that is ticketed without the venue or owners consent.

Keep reading

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