What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
On September 25, 2024, the FAA received a UAS accident report regarding a drone being shot down by a bb gun. The pilot was operating the UAS on a third-party contract for a large cable company in the southern California town of Yucaipa inspecting lines on power poles. The UAS damage was in an amount greater than 500 dollars putting the incident at the reportable level per FAA standards. There was no damage to property as the UAS was landed safely outside of the property borders. The local sheriff was called and the property privacy data omitted shooting the UAS was cited for felony vandalism. The sheriff also talked with the UAS pilot to investigate the type of work he was doing to include privacy violations etc. The FAA leap organization (law enforcement assistance program) was contacted by an inspector from the riverside FSDO on October 03, 2024, for assistance in the investigation and to evaluate if additional penalties should be enforced. The UAS pilot was also contacted on November 13, 2024, for additional information. He verified his third-party contract he was working with and stated that he was following all regulations and trying to avoid private property by following power lines. At this time, it has been determined that continuing the investigation is not required and the citation given to the property owner by local law enforcement is considered satisfactory. The police report verifying the citation was sent to this office from the leap division on November 19, 2024. See UAS accident number uasa-2024-00062 for additional information. Sas task number twp 21-FY25-0100.
As the FAA filed it
ON SEPTEMBER 25, 2024, THE FAA RECEIVED A UAS ACCIDENT REPORT REGARDING A DRONE BEING SHOT DOWN BY A BB GUN. THE PILOT WAS OPERATING THE UAS ON A THIRD-PARTY CONTRACT FOR A LARGE CABLE COMPANY IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TOWN OF YUCAIPA INSPECTING LINES ON POWER POLES. THE UAS DAMAGE WAS IN AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN 500 DOLLARS PUTTING THE INCIDENT AT THE REPORTABLE LEVEL PER FAA STANDARDS. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AS THE UAS WAS LANDED SAFELY OUTSIDE OF THE PROPERTY BORDERS. THE LOCAL SHERIFF WAS CALLED AND THE PROPERTY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SHOOTING THE UAS WAS CITED FOR FELONY VANDALISM. THE SHERIFF ALSO TALKED WITH THE UAS PILOT TO INVESTIGATE THE TYPE OF WORK HE WAS DOING TO INCLUDE PRIVACY VIOLATIONS ETC. THE FAA LEAP ORGANIZATION (LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM) WAS CONTACTED BY AN INSPECTOR FROM THE RIVERSIDE FSDO ON OCTOBER 03, 2024, FOR ASSISTANCE IN THE INVESTIGATION AND TO EVALUATE IF ADDITIONAL PENALTIES SHOULD BE ENFORCED. THE UAS PILOT WAS ALSO CONTACTED ON NOVEMBER 13, 2024, FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. HE VERIFIED HIS THIRD-PARTY CONTRACT HE WAS WORKING WITH AND STATED THAT HE WAS FOLLOWING ALL REGULATIONS AND TRYING TO AVOID PRIVATE PROPERTY BY FOLLOWING POWER LINES. AT THIS TIME, IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT CONTINUING THE INVESTIGATION IS NOT REQUIRED AND THE CITATION GIVEN TO THE PROPERTY OWNER BY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IS CONSIDERED SATISFACTORY. THE POLICE REPORT VERIFYING THE CITATION WAS SENT TO THIS OFFICE FROM THE LEAP DIVISION ON NOVEMBER 19, 2024. SEE UAS ACCIDENT NUMBER UASA-2024-00062 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. SAS TASK NUMBER TWP 21-FY25-0100.