Drone News: Man Arrested for Flying Over SpaceX, 2 New Drone Rumors, & Drone Spying at the Olympics

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Welcome to your weekly UAS news update we have three stories for you this week; A man was arrested for flying a drone over a SpaceX launch facility, we have 2 new drone rumors with leaked pictures, and possible drone spying at the Olympics.

00:00 Introduction
00:24 Man Arrested for Flying Over SpaceX
01:07 Two New Drone Rumors
02:10 Drone Spying at the Olympics

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The first story this week is not the best one, a man was arrested for flying a drone over the SpaceX launch facility in Cameron County, Tx. The man was identified as 32 yr. old, Reynold Daniel Chavez, admitted he was flying his drone to see the rockets and said he didn’t know the airspace was restricted.

At this stage, we’re unsure what legal ramifications Chavez will face. But he was charged with “operation of an unmanned aircraft over a critical infrastructure facility.”

The incident highlights the need for all UAS pilots to know the rules and regulations as well as the airspace they fly in. Whether flying under part 107 or recreationally, flying safely helps protect the industry we love. We’ll share updates on this story as more information comes in.

Alright, in our next story some more exciting news. We have some new leaked photos and even a video of two new drones. First, what looks like a new DJI Air. It was first speculated to be an DJI Air4 and then later an DJI Air3s. Either way, these new leaks appear to show a much larger gimbal and dual cameras.

Could we be getting a 1 inch sensor? The original DJI Air3 came out almost exactly one year ago, on July 25th 2023. And, it’s a great drone we still fly today, so we’re excited to see what kind of upgrades we’ll get with a newer model.

This time, several pictures showing a possible Mavic 4 prototype. What is clear is the very visible Hasselblad name branding and a design that looks similar to the current Mavic 3 series.

The leaks seem to show a larger gimbal with a 3 camera setup, which could indicate bigger image sensors. You can also see several sensors on the top and bottom of the drone, another possible upgrade could be to obstacle avoidance or tracking features. Again, we’ll have to wait and see. But the possibilities are exciting!

Next up, an accusation involving drones at the Olympics. A drone was seen flying over the New Zealand women’s soccer team during practice. The New Zealand Olympic Committee stated,

“Team support members immediately reported the incident to police, leading to the drone operator, who has been identified as a support staff member of the wider Canadian Women's football team, to be detained,”

A formal investigation has been launched to review the event. The Canadian Olympic Committee responded with a statement saying, “The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee,”

We’ll have to wait to see what information is uncovered from this story, but we will report back with any updates.

Lastly, as mentioned, Greg is at the EAA airshow with a lot of team. This year we have booths 209,210 and in Hangar B booth 2141.

No live on Community today and no live on Monday. But, Greg will be back for next week’s News Update we’ll see you then!