Man who flew drone over Victorian siege fined $850
A man who flew a drone at the scene of a siege at Altona North, in Melbourne's western suburbs, will be fined $850.
Police were negotiating with a man holed up in a house during a nine-hour siege, when the drone crashed into a power line and fell to the ground, nearly hitting an officer.
Peter Gibson, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said they believed it was a member of the public trying to get pictures of the police operation.
"[It] hit a power line and [he] lost control of the drone, which really emphasises the danger of taking drones to inappropriate places like situations where emergency services are working," Mr Gibson said.
Police confiscated the drone and handed the case to CASA to prosecute.
The use of drones is governed by a series of regulations.
Operators must stay more than 30 metres from people and drones are not allowed to be flown over crowds or gatherings.
They must stay out of the path of commercial aircraft and operators must keep the drone in line of sight at all times.
Mr Gibson said the incident highlighted the need for people using drones to follow important safety rules.
"We certainly say to people never fly a drone anywhere near emergency services, police, fire, ambulance, crash scenes," he said.
Although it is not the first time someone has been fined for using a drone, Mr Gibson said it was the first time a person had been fined for misusing a drone close to emergency services personnel.
"We really do rely on people to be responsible, understand the simple safety rules and follow those rules at all times," he said.
"Do that and you can have fun with your drone."
