Gun-wielding UAV sparks FAA investigation

Global news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), reported Tuesday that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating if a 14-second Youtube video showing an aerial drone firing a handgun while in flight constitutes a crime. In the video, the home-made quad-copter fires three or four shots, suggesting that it was especially built to compensate for and recover from the resulting recoil.

According to AFP, the UAV is the invention of 18-year-old mechanical engineering student, Austin Haughwout, who tested the armed flier in a park near his home in Clinton, Connecticut. While the local sheriff’s department has stated they aren’t aware that Haughwout has broken any laws, the FAA isn’t as certain.

“The FAA will investigate the operation of an unmanned aircraft system in a Connecticut park to determine if any Federal Aviation Regulations were violated,” the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. “The FAA will also work with its law enforcement partners to determine if there were any violations of criminal statutes.”
www.faa.gov