Commissioner Diaz calls for banning drones near County airports

(MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL) – Citing the increasing availability and use of drones by the general public and the potential risks to aircraft, the Miami-Dade County Commission on Oct. 20 gave preliminary approval to an ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz to ban the use of drones above any County airport or within one mile of a County airport runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration has documented 678 instances nationwide of aircraft in flight encountering drones and is currently in the process of developing a system to require owners to register their drones, also known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

“We have an obligation to protect the safety of our passengers by eliminating the potentially catastrophic risk of a drone making contact with an airplane in flight,” Commissioner Diaz said.