Two drone pilots were arrested after cops say their tiny craft nearly collided with a NYPD chopper over the George Washington Bridge.

Remy Castro, 23, and Wilkins Mendoza, 34, of Manhattan, have been arraigned on felony reckless endangerment charges, reports the New York Post. The two were released without bail, but face serious felony charges for their allegedly dangerous drone antics.

Why is flying a drone like this a felony?

Castro told a Manhattan Criminal Court that the drone was “just a toy” and that the NYPD helicopter “came to [them],” reports the Post.

Specifically for Castro and Mendoza, their drone-flying got them slapped with reckless endangerment in the first degree. This is a Class D felony, which can carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison. According to the New York Daily News, this heightened charge was based on allegations that the NYPD copter’s pilot felt the drone endangered the police helicopter.

This isn’t the first time that poorly planned drone flight has landed a pilot with reckless endangerment charges. Last year, a Brooklyn musician was arrested for reckless endangerment in the second degree after his drone crashed near Grand Central Terminal, nearly hitting someone.

Was It Really That Dangerous?

New York law requires that a person convicted of felony reckless endangerment engage in conduct which creates a “grave risk of death to another person.” An unnamed source told the Post that this drone-copter encounter was a “very dangerous” scenario, similar to the bird strike that forced a US Airways plane to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River in 2009.

If prosecutors can prove that flying a drone near a helicopter was so dangerous as to show a depraved indifference to human life, then Castro and Mendoza may be in trouble.

Castro and Mendoza have been released on their own recognizance pending their next court date.

Related Resources:

  • Amateur Drone Pilots Arrested for Flying Too Close to NYPD Chopper (Mashable)
  • Flying a Drone: Legally, What Can Happen? (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
  • Police Use of Aerial Drones Raises Concerns (FindLaw’s Blotter)
  • FBI: $10K Reward for Lasers Pointed at Planes (FindLaw’s Blotter)

You Don’t Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer’s Help

Civil Rights

Block on Trump’s Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court

Criminal

Judges Can Release Secret Grand Jury Records

Politicians Can’t Block Voters on Facebook, Court Rules