Man facing federal charges after flying drone during Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card game

By JT Moodee Lockman

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A Baltimore man is facing federal felony charges for flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium during the NFL Wild Card game between the Ravens and Pittsburg Steelers on Jan. 11, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Before the game, the FBI warned that they would be monitoring the restricted air space above the stadium for drones.

FBI Special Agent David Rodski told WJZ that illegally flying a drone could impact air operations when responding to emergencies or could cause injuries.

“The dangers of flying a drone over a stadium – for starters – you have 70,000 people, if that drone falls from the sky, you can injure somebody, you can actually kill somebody with a drone,” Rodski warned.

According to court documents, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had a temporary flight restriction in place over the stadium during the game. The restriction prohibited certain aircraft from operating within a three-mile radius of the stadium.

The flight restrictions are standard for sporting events and go into effect an hour before the event begins and remain in effect until an hour after the event ends, officials said.

“We are very serious about temporary flight restrictions,” said U.S. Attorney Barron. “You will be charged and held accountable for any incursion into restricted airspace, including around sports and entertainment venues such as the Super Bowl.”

On Jan. 11, the sighting of the unapproved and unidentified drone prompted NFL Security to temporarily suspend the Wild Card game, according to court documents.

Maryland State troopers and FBI special agents tracked the drone’s movement over the stadium and found it when it landed in Baltimore. The drone’s pilot, 43-year-old Alexis Perez Suarez of Baltimore, had already left the scene, but officials were able to track his whereabouts, court records show.

Suarez told officials he bought the drone for recreation and also used it for work. According to court documents, the drone was not registered and Saurez did not have the certifications needed to operate it.

Court documents allege that Suarez flew the drone directly over M&T Bank Stadium about 400 feet or higher. He allegedly captured seven photos of the stadium during the game as thousands of people were below his flight path.

Suarez faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison if convicted of flying a drone without certification and a maximum of one year for violating U.S. National Defense Airspace, according to court officials.

“If you are going to fly a drone, you are responsible for learning all the laws and requirements to responsibly operate it. Failing to do so will not excuse you from the consequences of breaking the law,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.

East Coast drone sightings The drone sighting at M&T Bank Stadium came shortly after drone sightings along the East Coast caused confusion and frustration among lawmakers and prompted a federal investigation.

In Maryland, several residents shared videos and pictures of drone activity, including former Gov. Larry Hogan who posted to social media claiming drones were flying above his home in Anne Arundel County.

He called the federal response “entirely unacceptable,” and tweeted, “The American people deserve answers and action now.”

Some social media users claimed the video posted by the former governor was actually stars from the Orion constellation.

In Washington County, Pa., a medical helicopter was mistaken for a drone.

“This drone was flying over our area and everything,” resident Robert Zborowski said. “And in the comments, everybody’s all, ‘Shoot them down. Shoot them down. If they fly over my place, I’m going to shoot them down.’ Well, it’s been confirmed that that was her helicopter.”

At the time, President Trump claimed the federal government knew the origin of the mystery drones spotted in East Coast states, but said federal officials wanted to “keep people in suspense.”

In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FAA, and Defense Department said “…we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”

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