New federal and local regulations have caused local residents to leave the South Bay to fly their drone. Previously, a drone user would have had to register their drone with the FAA, or the Federal Aviation Administration. With the local government steeping in, their are now specific rules that drone users must abide by. Including…
- No person shall operate any model aircraft within the City beyond the visual line of sight of the person operating the model aircraft.
- No person shall operate any model aircraft within the City other than during daylight hours.
- No person shall operate any model aircraft within the City more than 400 feet above the earth’s surface.
- Excluding takeoff and landing, no person shall operate any model aircraft within the City closer than 25 feet to any individual, except the operator or the operator’s helper(s).
The last regulation from the FAA is that one shall not fly a drone within 5 miles of an airport. This states that an unmanned aircraft may not be operated within five miles of an airport without the prior express authorization of the airport air traffic control tower. Almost all of Manhattan Beach falls within 5 miles of either LAX or the Hawthorne Airport, including the Manhattan Beach Pier.
For more information on the city’s new regulations, click here.
