Roughly a week after a DJI drone crashed and stopped a firefighting plane helping to put out the Los Angeles fires, the Chinese technology firm announced it will no longer attack restricted areas such as no-fly zones around natural disasters, military bases , airports or the White House.
DJI software previously prevented drone operators from flying into restricted areas or US No-Fly Zones by making the drone hover in place around a geo-fenced area, but it will no longer do so. Instead, DJI will use Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data to label No-Flight Zones “Enhanced Warning Areas.” Operators will receive in-app alerts notifying them of restricted airspace. The change is being delivered via a software update, and users can update their FlySafe in-app to lose geofencing.
DJI says its policy change is to put “control back in the hands of drone operators, consistent with the regulatory principles of the operator of ultimate responsibility,” according to a blog post from the company published this week. The FAA has since confirmed that geofencing is not required for drones. Remote sensing technology, a new standard as of March 2024, can be used to determine drone locations. But smaller drones weighing less than 0.55 pounds don’t have to have that tracking technology.
DJI’s move to lift geofencing ultimately requires drone operators to be more aware of whether they are flying legally. In the US, flying a drone amid firefighting efforts, for example, is a federal crime that can result in a $75,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Flying a drone over restricted airspace can also result in criminal charges and civil penalties. Some less obvious areas are also restricted: It’s illegal to fly a drone around national monuments like the Statue of Liberty, according to the FAA.
But DJI’s former vice president of policy and legal affairs, Brendan Schulman, suggests that eliminating geofencing poses security concerns. “Interesting timing: Almost ten years to the day after a DJI drone infamously crashed onto the White House lawn, DJI has removed the built-in geofencing feature that automatically prevents such an incident, replacing it with warnings that the user can choose to ignore,” Schulman wrote on X. Notably, a hobbyist admitted to flying the two-foot-tall drone that landed on the White House Estate in 2015, but did not face charges.
“There was substantial evidence over the years that automated drone geofencing, implemented using a risk-based approach, contributed significantly to aviation safety,” Schulman wrote in another post.
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DJI previously removed geofencing in the UK and parts of Europe last year in favor of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) mapping by national authorities.
Last year, the US added DJI to a list of Chinese military companies, prompting the drone maker to sue the Defense Department in October, arguing it has suffered “harassment” and “stigmatization” because of the designation. Since being added to that list, DJI has published a series of blog posts touting its technology as a way to help first responders and farmers.
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About Kate Irwin
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