A video shot from inside Reunion Tower on Friday shows a drone buzzing around downtown Dallas in apparent violation of federal rules.
The Federal Aviation Administration said no drones should fly there – at any altitude – because it is in the flight path of Dallas Love Field.
The video was shot about noon by an NBC 5 staffer who was visiting the tower. It was not clear who was controlling the aircraft.
Pilots report seeing drones at Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on average of once a week, said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford.
The agency is finalizing plans to register drones by the end of the year. Nearly a million unmanned planes are expected to be sold as Christmas gifts.
Romeo Espana, co-founder of the North Texas Drone Users Group, reviewed the video and said the drone appears to be one sold over-the-shelf for about $800.
"Someone is either being ignorant and doesn't understand the rules or someone is being reckless," he said. "They know what they are doing is wrong and they are proceeding anyways."
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Espana, an engineer who works on unmanned robotics for the Dallas technology company Dialexa, said he and many other hobbyists and industry groups support common-sense regulations – as long as they don't go too far.
For example, he asks, what is a drone? Some kids' toys might qualify under a strict definition, but they can only fly a few feet in the air, Espana said.
"If everything this size gets branded as a drone, nobody is going to listen," he said. "You buy one of these drones in a box and you fill it with your dreams. The drone is just a bus. You fill it with what you want. The problem is people sometimes get a little carried away."
