Man fined for flying drone above 400ft and without ID in vicinity of RAF base

A man has been fined and his drone equipment will be destroyed after pleading guilty to four offences at Boston Magistrates Court in Lincolnshire, UK on 28 August.

Lincolnshire Police said that Thomas Ling, 34, posed a serious risk to critical services. The Royal Air Force, the Air Ambulance and the National Police Air Service all had to be diverted and could not fly in the area where Ling was operating his drones for a number of days. 

Between 1 March 24 and 18 June 2024, Ling flew his first-person view (FPV) drone at heights of up to 12178 feet on 26 occasions in and around the area of Boston. “A height restriction of 400 feet is the maximum limit a drone is usually allowed to fly,” said the police statement. “Any drone flown higher risks flying into the airspace of crewed aircraft who generally fly above 500 feet, except for take off and landing.”

As well as the FPV drone, Ling operated two radio-controlled aircraft, all of which were seized as part of the police investigation. The four charges faced by Ling included 25 occasions of flying without an operator licence ID, 25 occasions of exceeding the maximum height of 400 feet, 26 offences of flying beyond visual line of sight, and one offence of installing or using wireless telegraphy apparatus without a licence. 

Kev Taylor, Chief Drone Pilot and Safety Manager, Lincolnshire Police, said: “Ling’s drone was adapted so that it could be flown at such high altitudes often flying between 7000 and 12000 feet. Lincolnshire airspace is congested; we have multiple RAF bases and civilian airfields in our county, including the Red Arrows, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Air Ambulance, private and commercial aircraft operating daily. Ling has shown a repeated and blatant disregard for the legislation and the safety of both the public and airspace users in Lincolnshire.”