Drone pilot cops to gob-smacking criminal drone rule violations

There are definite differences between being ignorant of drone rules, occasionally flirting with the limits of restrictions, and being an utter pillock in violating them. A California pilot has just pleaded guilty to what amounts to the latter, and then some.

On Thursday, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said a Laguna Beach resident had entered a guilty plea to three federal criminal charges in violating drone rules – each count involving intentional flight near piloted aircraft.

As a measure of what a complete tool the pilot was behind the controls, the third outrage occurred when his UAV was flown “directly at (a) Coast Guard helicopter, coming to within 200 feet of it.”

Astonishingly, given the flagrant, slam-dunk, this-way-to-your-cell details of each offense, federal officials negotiated a plea bargain from the 62-year-old…