Don’t Even Think of Using a Drone to Try to See the Pope

Don’t try to catch an aerial view of Pope Francis during his visit to DC this week. The FAA just issued a reminder that it could pursue “criminal or civil charges” against anyone flying unmanned aircraft around the city, including radio-controlled models.

The ban also applies to New York and Philadelphia.

Much of the Washington area is already off-limits to drones, though the occasional gyrocopter somehow manages to make it through our air defenses. In May, the US declined to prosecute a man who accidentally crashed a drone on the White House grounds in January.

That said: Leave the drone at home. Here’s a helpful video.

Andrew Beaujon

Senior editor

Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously the news editor and lead media reporter for the Poynter Institute, arts editor for the now completely vanished TBD.com, and managing editor of Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.