FAA investigates drone use by TV employee to film scene of fatal car crash

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation to determine whether a local news channel employee in Hartford, Conn. violated agency rules when he used a drone to record footage of a fatal car crash on Feb. 1.  

Police officers at the crash scene noticed the drone surveying the site with an attached video camera, and tracked down the drone operator for questioning. Pedro Rivera, 29, said he works for Hartford's WFSB news station and feeds video to the station as part of his job, but said he was the sole owner of the drone and was not working on the day of the crash.

The use of drones for journalism is banned by the FAA, which considers such use to be commercial. However, the agency allows not-for-profit use of drones by individuals. The Hartford Police Department did not file charges against Rivera and stated it believes he used the drone in a private capacity: