Law student is charged with flying drone at stadium during U of Kentucky football season opener
A University of Kentucky law student was charged with wanton endangerment on Friday after allegedly flying a drone at Commonwealth Stadium just before the season opener game against Louisiana-Lafayette kicked off on Saturday.
Peyton Wilson, 24, is accused of crashing the drone, which was equipped with a high-powered camera, into a glass-walled stadium suite. Authorities said the small unmanned aircraft also endangered military parachutists delivering the game ball and American flags to the stadium during pregame festivities, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. One man said he used “emergency evasive maneuvers to avoid contact with the drone that was at one point within 20 feet of his parachute,” a university police statement says.
Videos and photos provided by the public document the drone’s presence, police say. It isn’t clear how Wilson was identified as the claimed culprit.
If convicted of the misdemeanor, he could get up to a year in jail, the Associated Press reports. The university has also forwarded its findings to the Federal Aviation Administration for possible investigation concerning applicable U.S. laws.
A relative said Wilson did not wish to comment, the AP reports.
“It’s very dangerous when you have a remote-controlled, non-piloted aircraft that’s flying in areas where there’s lots of people,” said Joe Monroe, the university police chief, adding: “We hope that this will set a precedent that this is not going to be tolerated at the University of Kentucky in these venues without prior approval.”
Hat tip: Reuters.
