Drones are great. But they are also flying machines that can do lots of stupid and dangerous things. Like, for instance, fly over a major league baseball game packed with spectators. It happened at Fenway Park last night, and the FAA is not happy. The illegal flight took place last night during a Red Sox-Blue Jays game at Fenway; the drone, a conspicuously white DJI Phantom, reportedly first showed up around 9:30 PM, coming and going over the next hour. One of the many fans who shot a video of the drone, Chris O’Brien, told CBS Boston that “it would kind of drop fast then go back up then drop and spin. It was getting really low and close to the players. At one point it was getting really low and I was wondering are they going to pause the game and whatever, but they never did. Places where flying is regularly prohibited, like airports and major landmarks like stadiums, often have no-fly rules baked into the GPS systems of drones — and that’s the case with DJI. In a statement, however, the company said that “whoever flew this drone over the stadium apparently overrode our geofencing system and deliberately violated the FAA temporary flight restriction in place over the game.” The FAA said that it (and Boston PD) is investigating both to local news and in a tweet explaining why it is illegal. FAA Statement: The FAA is investigating a report that a #drone flew over @fenwaypark during the baseball game last night. Flying drones in/around stadiums is prohibited starting 1hr before & ending 1hr after the scheduled game & prohibited within a radius of 3 nm of the stadium. pic.twitter.com/o6nOGVf8K2 — The FAA (@FAANews) April 12, 2019 That’s three nautical miles, which is quite a distance, covering much of central Boston. You don’t really take chances when there are tens of thousands of people all gathered in one spot on a regular basis like that. Drones open up some pretty ugly security scenarios. Of course, this wasn’t a mile and a half from Fenway, which might have earned a slap on the wrist, but directly over the park, which as the FAA notes above could lead to hundreds of thousands in fines and actual prison time. It’s not hard to imagine why: If that drone had lost power or caught a gust (or been hit by a fly ball, at that altitude), it could have hurt or killed someone in the crowd. It’s especially concerning when the FAA is working on establishing new rules for both hobby and professional drone use. You should leave a comment there if you feel strongly about this, by the way. Here’s hoping they catch the idiot who did this. It just goes to show that you can’t trust people to follow the rules, even when they’re coded into a craft’s OS. It’s things like this that make mandatory registration of drones sound like a pretty good idea. (Red Sox won, by the way. But the season’s off to a rough start.)<doc-sep>Last night a drone illegally flew over Fenway Park during a Red Sox-Blue Jays game. According to Boston Police, the drone was first spotted around 9:30 pm and was last seen around 10:20 pm. The Red Sox said that they have reported the incident to the Police. Both the police and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) are looking into the situation. Flying drones over crowds or over a packed stadium are against the FAA’s regulations. DJI issued a statement on the drone incident as well. Drone illegally flew over Fenway Park Thursday night during a Red Sox-Blue Jays game a drone illegally flew over Fenway Park. Flying a drone over crowds and over stadiums such Fenway Park during a game is against the regulations set by the FAA. The agency said in a statement to WBZ-TV: “Flying drones in and around stadiums is prohibited starting one hour before and ending one hour after a scheduled game and prohibited within a radius of three nautical miles of the stadium,” Flying a drone over a stadium could result in criminal fines up to $250,000 and up to three years in prison, according to the FAA. Several fans were able to capture the drone incident with their phone. It is unknown at this point to whom the drone belongs. Based on the video footage it seems to be a DJI Phantom. CBS Boston reports that DJI responded with the following statement from Adam Lisberg, the Corporate Communication Director at DJI Technology: “DJI is aware that an apparent DJI Phantom drone was spotted over Fenway Park during tonight’s Red Sox game. We are trying to learn more about what happened, and stand ready to work with Boston Police and other security agencies to investigate what happened. Whoever flew this drone over the stadium apparently overrode our geofencing system and deliberately violated the FAA temporary flight restriction in place over the game. DJI’s AeroScope system can remotely identify and monitor airborne DJI drones in areas where it has been installed, and this incident shows why the federal government must mandate a remote identification system for airborne drones as soon as possible.” The drone was unauthorized according to a statement by the Red Sox: “During the late innings of tonight’s game, a drone was flown above the ballpark by an unidentified individual. The operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) around large stadium events is in violation of FAA regulations and the club has reported the incident to the Boston Police Department for investigation,” the Red Sox said in a statement to WBZ. Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland told Mass Live that the drone did not go unnoticed on the field. He said: “It kind of threw me off. I looked up and was like, ‘they’re not supposed to have these around here, are they?’ I figured I’d try to hit it or something.” It is not the first time a drone flew illegally over a stadium. Last year we reported on this drone incident over a soccer game in the UK and in 2017 there was this story of a man who dropped leaflets from a drone over two NFL games. Stay in touch! If you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest drone news, scoops, rumors and reviews, then follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or sign up for our daily email newsletter, that goes out every weekday at 6 pm. Buy your next drone through directly from manufacturers, such as DJI, Parrot, Yuneec or retailers like Amazon, B&H, BestBuy or eBay. By using our links, we will make a small commission, but it will not cost you anything extra. Thank you for helping DroneDJ grow! Subscribe to DroneDJ on YouTube for exclusive videos<doc-sep>An unauthorized flying object was an uninvited guest at Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox earned a walk-off win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night. The unidentified drone hovered over the playing field at Fenway, causing a bit of a ruckus. It was enough of a distraction that Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland had to step out of the batter's box for a moment when he noticed the flying object during his ninth-inning at-bat. "It kind of threw me off," Moreland said. "I looked up and was like, 'They’re not supposed to have these around here, are they?' I figured I’d try to hit it or something." Moreland managed to get it together and hit a game-tying double, scoring Mookie Betts, who had walked. Moreland was later replaced on the basepaths by Eduardo Nunez, who scored on Rafael Devers' walk-off single. It was Devers' his first career walk-off RBI. The Red Sox won, 7-6, for their first home victory of the season, which has gotten off to a rough start for the defending World Series champs. While the drone might have been good luck for the Red Sox, its owner could be in some trouble. The Red Sox's policy on drones is clear: "The use of UAVs (drones) are prohibited at all times in and around Fenway Park by federal regulations and such use will be immediately reported to Boston Police for investigation."<doc-sep>
BOSTON (CBS) – A drone flew over Fenway Park during the Red Sox-Blue Jays game Thursday night – and no one knows who’s responsible. Boston Police said it was first spotted around 9:30 p.m. and it took off around 10:20 p.m. Officers and the Federal Aviation Administration are looking into the incident. “There is an active investigation with the F.A.A. and the B.P.D. That’s all I can tell you at this time but as soon as we get something, we’ll definitely let you know because we want to send a clear cut message to everyone that there is no authorized flying of drones or any major event at all,” Boston Police Commissioner William Gross told reporters Friday. “If that investigation leads to someone being brought to justice, you will definitely know because we need to send that message.” “Flying drones in and around stadiums is prohibited starting one hour before and ending one hour after a scheduled game and prohibited within a radius of three nautical miles of the stadium,” the FAA said in a statement to WBZ-TV. Flying a drone over a stadium could result in criminal fines up to $250,000 and up to three years in prison, according to the FAA. Twitter erupted with fans at Fenway wondering about the mysterious drone, which was captured on video by several people. “It would kind of drop fast then go back up then drop and spin,” said Chris O’Brien, who shot one of those videos. “It was getting really low and close to the players.” O’Brien said he first spotted the drone around the fourth inning. “I think it was the seventh or eighth it came back that’s when it was sort of getting bold,” he told WBZ. “At one point it was getting really low and I was wondering are they going to pause the game and whatever, but they never did.” “If someone had wanted to do damage with that drone they probably could have and that’s a concerning thought,” he said. Video I shot of the drone over Fenway in the 9th inning tonight. pic.twitter.com/VJhf08bDqa — JPS (@rsfpt) April 12, 2019 The Red Sox said the drone was unauthorized. “During the late innings of tonight’s game, a drone was flown above the ballpark by an unidentified individual. The operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) around large stadium events is in violation of FAA regulations and the club has reported the incident to the Boston Police Department for investigation,” the Red Sox said in a statement. Adam Lisberg, a spokesman for drone manufacturer DJI Technology, told WBZ the drone is one of theirs and it was a “really dumb thing for someone to do.” “We are trying to learn more about what happened, and stand ready to work with Boston Police and other security agencies to investigate what happened,” he said. “Whoever flew this drone over the stadium apparently overrode our geofencing system and deliberately violated the FAA temporary flight restriction in place over the game. DJI’s AeroScope system can remotely identify and monitor airborne DJI drones in areas where it has been installed, and this incident shows why the federal government must mandate a remote identification system for airborne drones as soon as possible.”