NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
Recreational / Hobbyist UAS pilot reported flying within an active TFR without authorization. Pilot ended the flight upon becoming aware of the TFR.
What is ASRS?
The Aviation Safety Reporting System is NASA's voluntary, confidential, non- punitive incident-reporting system, established 1976. Pilots, controllers, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians file reports describing safety- relevant events. NASA de-identifies every report before adding it to the public database. Reports are not investigated by NASA, the FAA, or the NTSB — they represent the reporter's perspective.
Pilot narrative
Verbatim from the de-identified NASA record. First-person account by the
reporter. NASA strips identifying details (names, company, specific time);
anonymization placeholders are ZZZ,
X, Y.
Intended to photograph at a distance of 3+ miles the flight of helicopters over an event. I was hoping/expecting the flight of 3-4 aircraft would continue their flight path in the direction of my home as previous flyovers have done. I monitored the target aircraft via Foreflight app and launched my drone vertically from my home as the intended target appeared to fly towards the event. When I first checked the app Air Aware by Pilot Institute, it did not show the TFR. With the drone in position for a very few minutes, I suddenly realized on Foreflight that my home location was within the TFR! I immediately and rapidly descended the drone from 350 feet AGL to approximately 150 feet AGL, then activated the 'Return to Home' function and landed the drone. I then proceeded to turn it off. Complacency - being at home, in familiar space, having flown from this location before, having witnessed fly overs from a distance without a drone, focusing on the timing of the aircraft and the need to synchronize, I quickly launched having quickly checked the Air Aware app which initially did not show the TFR. 'Tunnel Vision' while monitoring the target on Foreflight app during initial operations contributed to the error. While I regret my error, I am satisfied with my self-recognition of my error and my ability to immediately correct without incurring any imminent safety concern.
NASA classification — Anomalies
- Airspace Violation
- Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural
NASA classification — Assessments
- Contributing Factors / Situations
- Human Factors · Software and Automation
- Primary Problem
- Ambiguous
ASRS reports are voluntarily submitted, de-identified by NASA, and represent the reporter's perspective. The presence of reports on a topic cannot be used to infer prevalence in the National Airspace System. The authoritative source is the NASA ASRS Database Online at asrs.arc.nasa.gov ↗.