Trappy's NYC flight under FAA investigation

Gary at sUAS News reports:

"sUAS News recently asked FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Peggy Gilligan about the First Person View flight undertaken in New York by Austrian Raphael Pirker.

As Associate Administrator, Ms. Gilligan leads the organization responsible for setting, overseeing, and enforcing safety standards for all parts of the aviation industry – airlines, manufacturers, repair stations, pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers, and any person or product that operates in aviation. These programs have a direct impact on every facet of domestic and international civil aviation safety.

We are very grateful that Ms Gilligan took the time to answer, heres what she said.

“This event remains under investigation by FAA as well as by some law enforcement organizations in the NYC area. We do intend to notify the operator of the investigation — although I understand he is not a US citizen and we believe he is not in the US”

It will be interesting to see which particular rules may or may not have been broken during Trappys flight."

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Comments

trappy February 8, 2011 at 10:43am

Ron, you called me immature and you said I broke regulations - which could have legal consequences. It's written quite clearly. Speaking of immature, my 3yo nephew keeps usibg the "no I never said that" line. It's somewhat bearable considering his age.
trappy February 8, 2011 at 10:41am

Rory, will you pay travel and expenses? Let me know, I could use another vacation. I'll fly in through Vegas and stay there until a court case opens. How does that sound?
Ron Jacobs February 8, 2011 at 10:32am

Just a quick rebuttal Chris,...I did not accuse him of doing anything illegal...I didn't say he was immature...definitely didn't call him a nitwit or douchebag...:)
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson February 8, 2011 at 10:20am

Okay, we all get it. The FAA regs are "guidelines", not laws. Point taken. I hope everyone is now clear on that and we can move on to more substantive elements of this important discussion.
trappy February 8, 2011 at 10:01am

yes, I am aware that there are no regulations on line of sight. I was just trying to say that even if I didn't need line of sight, my spotter still had it. The "opinion as fact" problem is what gets me so worked up these days. Accusing myself of being immature while they can't even take the time to research their accusations. It really isn't about how you say it, it's what you say.
trappy February 8, 2011 at 9:46am

Ron, please prove it was beyond line of sight. Please show the regulation that applies to my aircraft (read: recreational r/c plane). Or give it a rest. And as for my style, I say it like I mean it. I'm not going to sugar-coat my responses just because you can't handle it
Ron Jacobs February 8, 2011 at 9:30am

@Duane

His flights over NYC were, at the very least beyond line of sight with naked eye, that's a regulation, note, I didn't say law. And there were airspace restricted areas he flew through, doesn't matter what kind of aircraft..that's a regulation too...

as for his language, calling people nitwits and using terms like douchebaggery on a social site like this is unacceptable...that's one of our policies (read regulations).

Crude language is all about style, has nothing to do with content...
trappy February 8, 2011 at 9:09am

Ron, I'm not impressed with you either. I think we have just established that what I have done was not illegal. So why, after we have established that, do you ask me to admit that what I did was illegal? My attitude comes directly from the loss of patience of dealing with mental 5 year olds like yourself. If I take the time to read what you say, why can't you?

Gary, I'm still comfortably at home on RCGroups. What are you doing here, looking for the bind button?
Gary Evans February 8, 2011 at 8:54am

He has already been banned from RCGroups for bad conduct but keeps trying to get in with bogus user account names. Good to see he has found a new home here.
Ron Jacobs February 8, 2011 at 8:51am

trappy may have valid points, but I personally am not impressed by his attitude. Sounds very immature calling people nitwits and claiming "douchebaggery"?, his point?

If he is going to do what he does, he could at least have some humility and at least admit he is doing outside of regulations.

Ok, nothing happened, but what if something did. What if his plane crashed into a building or street and hit someone...then would we be so quick to defend his actions.

I'd be willing to bet his plane weighs more than a seagull too, It is carrying lipos, camera, electronics. Birds don't weigh very much, that's why they can fly.

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