USA : Man flies drone into Birmingham airport airspace, prompts warning to pilots

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – An Alabama man is keeping his drone aircraft closer to the ground after a high-altitude flight prompted a warning to pilots at Birmingham’s airport.

Michael Mayhew posted a video on YouTube in late May showing a drone flight that soared thousands of feet off the ground north of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.

The video doesn’t show any airplanes nearby, but pilots later received an automated warning from the Federal Aviation Administration about unauthorized drones.

The problem is that the drone was in airport airspace, and FAA rules limit the altitude of such flights.

Mayhew says a user on an Internet forum reported him after seeing flight statistics online. One video by Mayhew says a drone reached an altitude of more than 3,600 feet.

Mayhew says he’s now limiting his flight altitude.