It may have been news to hobbyists that model airplanes are considered unmanned aircraft (i.e., drones) and therefore subject to Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) regulation. Although the FAA did not have the regulatory personnel to enforce its authority routinely, Advisory Circular 91-57, issued in 1981, established that the FAA had jurisdiction of model aircraft operation, including the authority to take action for operations that are careless or reckless. Through several judicial decisions in 2014, the FAA’s authority to regulate the flight of model aircraft was confirmed.

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