18 U.S.C. § 39B

Unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft

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(a)Offense.—Any person who operates an unmanned aircraft and:(1) Knowingly interferes with, or disrupts the operation of, an aircraft carrying 1 or more occupants operating in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c).(2) Recklessly interferes with, or disrupts the operation of, an aircraft carrying 1 or more occupants operating in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c).(b)Operation of Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to Airports.—(1)In general.—Any person who, without authorization, knowingly operates an unmanned aircraft within a runway exclusion zone shall be punished as provided in subsection (c).(2)Runway exclusion zone defined.—In this subsection, the term “runway exclusion zone” means a rectangular area—(A) centered on the centerline of an active runway of an airport immediately around which the airspace is designated as class B, class C, or class D airspace at the surface under part 71 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and(B) the length of which extends parallel to the runway’s centerline to points that are 1 statute mile from each end of the runway and the width of which is ½ statute mile.(c)Penalty.—(1)In general.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the punishment for an offense under subsections 11 So in original. Probably should be “subsection”. (a) or (b) shall be a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.(2)Serious bodily injury or death.—Any person who:(A) Causes serious bodily injury or death during the commission of an offense under subsection (a)(2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for a term of up to 10 years, or both.(B) Causes, or attempts or conspires to cause, serious bodily injury or death during the commission of an offense under subsections (a)(1) and (b) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both.(Added Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title III, § 384(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3322.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 1 case (1 in the last 5 years), 2024–2024 · leading case: United States v. Hay

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United States v. Hay (2024) ca10 “§ 964 by delivering it to a belligerent nation, or steal a drone while flying it off in a way that would recklessly interfere with the operation of a manned aircraft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 39B(a)(2). Since 18 U.S.C. § 641 prohibits stealing government property by means of…”

— 18 U.S.C. § 39B(a)(2) — 1 case

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