Connecticut Father, Son Challenge Drone Regulations

A Connecticut father and son are headed for a court showdown with the Federal Aviation Administration over whether the agency can force them to disclose information about drones shown in two YouTube videos firing a gun and deploying a flame thrower in their backyard.

Austin Haughwout, 19, of Clinton, and his father, Bret Haughwout, are refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by the U.S. attorney’s office on behalf of the FAA, saying the subpoenas violate their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and questioning the agency’s authority to regulate recreational drones.

A hearing on whether the Haughwouts have to comply with the subpoenas was scheduled before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer in New Haven. The case potentially has national significance because it would set a precedent on how much authority the FAA has over recreational drone use, said the Haughwouts’ lawyer, Mario Cerame.

Austin Haughwout uploaded the videos to his YouTube channel last year. One video, viewed more than 3.7 million times, shows a flying drone equipped with a handgun firing rounds. Another shows a flying drone with a flamethrower lighting up a spit-roasting Thanksgiving turkey. Both videos were recorded in the family’s yard in Clinton.

The father and son have refused to comply with subpoenas.

Federal prosecutors say in court documents that the subpoenas were issued in connection with an investigation being conducted for the legitimate purpose of ensuring the safe operation of “aircraft” and under the FAA’s authority to investigate potential violations of its regulations banning people from operating aircraft in a careless or reckless manner.

The FAA in June proposed its first set of regulations for the commercial use of drones, but not recreational use. There are some requirements for recreational use, including having to register any unmanned aircraft weighing more than 0.55 pounds and notifying airport operators before flying drones within 5 miles of airports.

Cerame said the FAA is wrong to rely on aircraft regulations, and that the case will affect recreational drone operators nationwide.

“They shouldn’t use airplane regulations,” he said. “They should go get the authority from Congress. It’s about keeping the government in check as to what Congress said they can do.”

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