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Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0
State Fair of Texas drone policy prohibits overflights, even with FAA approval
By DRONELIFE Contributing Editor Jim Magill
The State Fair of Texas has posted a media policy that prohibits all drone overflight above the festival while the fair is in session, even those which might be launched from a site off the fairgrounds, and even when those flights are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
A spokesman has said the policy is undergoing a review for a possible revision to comply with FAA regulations, but as of Friday, September 1, the old policy was still on the Fair’s website.
In keeping with its Guidelines for Media Participation, Fair Park, in Dallas might be a “No Drone Zone,” through the duration of the Fair, which is ready to run from Sept. 29 through Oct. 22.
“The Fair, Fair Park and the whole fairgrounds are a ‘No Drone Zone.’ Per FAA regulations, Small Unmanned Aircrafts (UASs), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UVAs), or drones are restricted in Class B Airspace which encompasses the whole downtown Dallas area and beyond,” the policy states.”
The policy points out that “UVAs, drones, and model aircrafts with cameras attached are strictly prohibited in Class B Airspace unless granted a waiver from the FAA.” Nevertheless, it goes on to say that “even when granted the waiver by the FAA,” drone pilots is not going to by allowed to conduct overflights above the fairgrounds.
“Leading as much as and through the Fair, Fair Park is under lease by the State Fair and regarded private property, due to this fact approval from the FAA doesn’t guarantee the appropriate to fly above Fair Park,” the policy states. “For the protection of our guests, the State Fair, in partnership with the Dallas Police Department, is not going to allow drones to fly above Fair Park through the Fair.”
This policy seems to challenge the authority of the FAA, which maintains it has complete jurisdiction over the regulation of all above-ground airspace.
“The FAA is chargeable for the protection of our National Airspace System. This includes all airspace from the bottom up. While local laws or ordinances may restrict where drones can take off or land, they can not restrict a drone from flying in airspace permitted by the FAA,” spokeswoman Emma Duncan said in an email.
Duncan said all approved drone flights must comply with the small drone rule, which “permits operations over people, under certain circumstances, depending on the extent of risk that a drone poses to people on the bottom.”
In an Sept. 1 interview, Fair Security Director Jeffrey Cotner said the Fair was working with the FAA to update its media guidelines. “No person desires to violate anybody’s constitutional privileges. We don’t go into that,” he said.
A Dallas Police spokeswoman declined to comment on its enforcement of the State Fair’s media policy.
“You would need to reach out to the State Fair, it’s totally the state fair’s policy,” DPD Senior Corporal Melinda Gutierrez said in an interview. She said Fair officials on site have the first responsibility for enforcing the Fair’s policies.
“If there’s a difficulty, they’re those that approach the individuals which might be flying the drones. Last yr we did have some drone fliers and their reps politely asked them to stop flying the drones and we’ve never had a difficulty with them complying,” Gutierrez said.
In an email statement, Cotner discussed how difficult it might be for a drone pilot to securely operate a drone, launched from a location off the grounds of Fair Park, to fly over the fairgrounds.
“The Fair environment is dynamic and continually changing, evolving,” he said. Cotner noted that such drones typically “circle, hover and don’t transit point-to-point to avoid flyovers,” putting them susceptible to having sustained flight over people inside an open-air assembly equivalent to the Fair.
“The State Fair is an overwhelmingly dense, outside event with limited cover,” he said. “Though the distant pilot can have FAA clearance to operate within the airspace, the UAV are overflying non-participants in a way not compliant with Part 107 with regard to safety or taking a risk-based approach toward their protection.”
Established in 1886, the State Fair of Texas is the longest-running fair within the nation, in addition to one in all the biggest. Positioned in Fair Park near downtown Dallas, home to the long-lasting Big Tex statue and Cotton Bowl Stadium, 25 miles from the Dallas/Fort Price Airport, the Fair lies inside one of the vital heavily regulated airspaces within the country.
Recently, the Fair amended its policy regarding bringing drones onto the fairgrounds. The old policy posted on its website prohibited “using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly generally known as drones, inside the 277 acres of Fair Park without prior written approval of State Fair’s Public Relations Department.”
As well as, the policy prohibited “using all remote-controlled devices of any type, including, but not limited to, aircraft, drones, quad-copters, cars or trucks, on or (italics added) property owned, leased or controlled by the Fair.”
The policy further stated that drone operations conducted “without prior written consent of the State Fair of Texas or proper law enforcement authority will lead to the confiscation of all related materials, you being faraway from Fair property, and/or prosecution under Texas law.”
In April 2022, a federal judge struck down the principal Texas law prohibiting certain drone operations over private property on the grounds that a few of its provisions violated First Amendment freedoms.
In late August of this yr, the Fair amended the posting regarding drone operations on the fairgrounds to reflect the change within the law. The brand new post states that “drones, quad-copters and other remote-controlled devices usually are not allowed on the fairgrounds, unless granted a waiver from the FAA.”
The Fair makes one exception to the rule regarding carrying drones onto the fairgrounds. “Registered vendors can sell a majority of these devices on the fairgrounds without their battery packs.”
Unlike the previous regulations, the brand new rules don’t make a direct reference to prosecution under state law, as an alternative stating that “individuals violating State Fair rules are subject to ejection from the grounds and/or criminal enforcement of applicable statutes.”
FAA Updates Fact Sheet on State and Local Drone Regulations