Illegal Drone Business Thrives in US


Popularized by their military applications, drones are now taking flight over U.S. skylines with at least hundreds of small, unmanned aircraft hard at work buzzing over football stadiums, Hollywood sets and farms. Despite regulations banning commercial drone use in the United States, a thriving black market is on the rise, sending the Federal Aviation Administration into a tailspin.


As the domestic debate over drones and associated privacy and safety issues heats up in Washington, D.C., companies aren't waiting for formal rules that would permit their commercial use. President Obama has mandated that Congress come up with rules that would permit commercial drone use, but they are not due until 2015.

A search on Google for "drones" turns up dozens of companies brazenly advertising drone-related services here in the United States. Drones for hire are used on Hollywood film sets (to get that overhead shot cheaply), to create promotional videos for real estate and to help farmers crop dust and keep a bird's-eye view on livestock

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