A drone that was legally flying above a neighborhood in Edmond, Oklahoma, was shot down out of the sky by a spooked neighbor in a case that highlights growing concerns over proper drone usage and protocol.
The drone in question was shot down above the 23000 block of Lauren Lane in Edmond on Wednesday, according to KOKH-TV.
The drone, which had been soaring legally above the neighborhood, was reportedly being used by a construction company as a tool to aid in its inspection of the gutters for one of the homes. But not all of the neighbors knew about the authorized flight, and questions and suspicions were raised after a woman in a nearby home caught sight of the drone.
Legal drone used for company for inspecting house gutters shot out of sky by neighbour who thought it was spying https://t.co/HkctYwMGp9
— Lorrie Goldstein (@sunlorrie) April 2, 2016
“We were told that the person operating the drone was doing it for work. I believe he was surveying the house, possibly the gutters, they were doing some work on the home,” spokesperson Mark Opgrande for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office told KOKH. “Somebody thought that they didn’t know why the drone was there, thought they were spying, so the neighbor came out and shot it down.”
According to Opgrande, the numbers of legal drones being used in the U.S. are increasing to such levels that new considerations must be dealt with concerning how best to inform residents of nearby drones’ whereabouts and purposes.
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