He could have brought down a plane on landing (moffet field flies planes low over mountain view often), cut power to a hospital, had the broken line kill someone. This action was easily more dangerous to society and those around him than driving a tank on city streets while drunk
You can fly a plane into a restricted airspace and get off without criminal charges. It's completely unreasonable to expect a multi-decade sentence for something like this.
I also dislike drones around people (I'm a climber, and have had a drone fly by me while navigating rock 300' off the ground), but come on.
You can fly a plane into a restricted airspace and get off without criminal charges.
About once every two weeks, somebody seriously violates restricted airspace in the US, and it leads to a close encounter with an F-16, F-15, or one of Homeland Security's helicopters. They will be forced to land. So far, the USAF hasn't had to shoot down anybody, but general aviation pilots who've been intercepted report it is a scary experience. Once they're on the ground, they will be detained and interrogated by law enforcement.
Once it's established that they're not a terrorist, the FAA takes over. There's usually a check ride with an FAA examiner before they get to fly again. A $10,000 fine is normal. A suspension or revocation of the pilot's license is possible. For a second violation, likely.
I think there should be a serious punishment but lengthy jail time may not be the best answer. I would fully support some period of house arrest, lengthy community service, and whopping big fines.
In the one incident I'm aware of an operator crashed his drone at the Seattle Pride Parade, striking a woman in the head. He received a $500 fine and a 30 day jail sentence. The city attorney was aiming for 90 days of jail time.
