What To Do If You Find A Lost Drone

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What do you do if you find a lost drone? First, check to see if the weapons are still armed. Wait. What kind of drone are we talking about? ;)

I think this is the best etiquette for drone finders, but I queried Twitter for other suggestions. “I think if you find a drone, you set it free. If it comes back to you, it’s meant to be,” said legal drone expert Ryan Calo kiddingly, before more seriously suggesting calling the manufacturer of the drone with its serial number to report it “found” (much like finding a lost credit card). Lea Rosen suggested that the onus is on dr-owners instead, to put tags (with a name and contact info) on their futuristic friends. Mini-ITX
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Finders-Keepers.;)

Take it home and dismantle it, keeping anything that looks cool.
 
They wouldn't want me to return their drone to them. Not too many people are fond of meeting a hostile 6' tall bird of prey from legend, so... I'll just dismantle it.

Violently.



It's better that way.
 
Aluisious said:
If someone's drone is flying over my property and it lands, it's mine.
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Indeed. Though at my house, anything that is in my yard and isn't smart enough to run/fly away is automatically a dog toy. I think my Golden would love a shot at discovering the varied tastes of drone parts.
 
I would do the paper with my number thing... But I would also ask for a 9,000 dollar reward on that paper... See if they actually even respond.
 
I'd like to refer you to the case of finders vs keepers

Lionel_Hutz.jpg


Seriously though if I find it on my property for any length of time I'll do whatever the hell I want with it. Take it apart, smash it, shoot it, whatever strikes me as fun.

If someone crash lands it in my backyard and comes looking for it immediately, and they didn't damage anything, if they were really nice about it, I'd give it back to them and go about my business.
 
Isn't found property still stolen property? If you left your bicycle leaned up against a wall somewhere, and I go oh look a bicycle I can't just walk off with it. Why would a drone be any different?

And who doesn't use a label printer to put their contact info on their RC craft? If you wanted to stay anonymous, you could just use a special "If found please email [email protected] to claim reward", and setup mail forwarding to yourself.
 
collegeboy69us said:
If someone crash lands it in my backyard and comes looking for it immediately, and they didn't damage anything, if they were really nice about it, I'd give it back to them and go about my business.
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As long as they were nice about it, I'd give it back. If they are dicks about it, it's mine.
 
Ducman69 said:
Isn't found property still stolen property? If you left your bicycle leaned up against a wall somewhere, and I go oh look a bicycle I can't just walk off with it. Why would a drone be any different?
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If it's on your property, though? I think if most people found a bike in their yard, they'd look for the owner. It's not theirs and they want to get it back to the person it belongs to. However, why was it there? Did the kid ditch it while in your yard? Did someone steal it and ditch it?
 
Ducman69 said:
Isn't found property still stolen property? If you left your bicycle leaned up against a wall somewhere, and I go oh look a bicycle I can't just walk off with it. Why would a drone be any different?
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If I left my bicycle leaned up against a wall somewhere, without a chain on it and without watching it, I would say yes, it is there for someone to take because obviously I do not care about it enough to keep it safe.
 
collegeboy69us said:
If someone crash lands it in my backyard and comes looking for it immediately, and they didn't damage anything, if they were really nice about it, I'd give it back to them and go about my business.
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And if they are rude about it, they'd just come back with a police officer, wasting everyone's time.

I never understood some people that think that if something falls on their property that its theirs. So next time a dog walks up on your front lawn, you just inherited it? I don't think so:
The finder of lost articles on land belonging to someone else is entitled to possession against everyone but the true owner. However, if the finder of the misplaced goods is guilty of Trespass, she has no right to possess the goods. The owner of the place where an article is mislaid has a right to the article against everyone else but the true owner. Abandoned property can be possessed and owned by the first person who exercises control over it with an intent to claim it as his own. In any event, between the finder of a lost, mislaid, or abandoned article and the owner of the place where it is found, the law applies whatever rule will most likely result in the return of the article to its rightful owner.
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Cliffs notes: Someone crashes their RC aircraft on your property, its still theirs. They have to request permission to retrieve it. If you deny permission and don't personally return it, you are now in violation of the law.
 
Krenum said:
If I left my bicycle leaned up against a wall somewhere, without a chain on it and without watching it, I would say yes, it is there for someone to take because obviously I do not care about it enough to keep it safe.
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What if they are like me and are within 50 yards with a 9mm? Hope you can peddle really fast.
 
Ur_Mom said:
If it's on your property, though? I think if most people found a bike in their yard, they'd look for the owner.
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That is all I would expect a reasonable person to do. Anything less is a dirty thief IMO. If there's a simple way to notify the owner, you have a moral obligation if not a legal obligation in your state. Karma yo!
 
Ducman69 said:
Cliffs notes: Someone crashes their RC aircraft on your property, its still theirs. They have to request permission to retrieve it. If you deny permission and don't personally return it, you are now in violation of the law.
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So if I crash land a drone on the white house lawn, you're telling me all I have to do to get it back is ask for it?
 
It shouldn't be over my property anyway. If they didn't get permission first they're lucky I'm just keeping the drone and not filing complaints of trespassing, invasion of privacy, etc.
 
MRAB54 said:
So if I crash land a drone on the white house lawn, you're telling me all I have to do to get it back is ask for it?
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That's not how it works. The government can watch you, but you can't watch the government. It's a one way street.
 
Grebuloner said:
Indeed. Though at my house, anything that is in my yard and isn't smart enough to run/fly away is automatically a dog toy. I think my Golden would love a shot at discovering the varied tastes of drone parts.
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You wouldn't want your dog eating a battery pack. Plus the little spars and blades and bits could very well puncture your dog's intestine if he actually eats rather than merely chews on a drone.
 
Aluisious said:
It shouldn't be over my property anyway. If they didn't get permission first they're lucky I'm just keeping the drone and not filing complaints of trespassing, invasion of privacy, etc.
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Pretty sure the air above your house doesn't count as your property. Just like the street in front of your house doesn't account for your property.
 
Some toy that crash landed on my property fine come get it. Something with a camera on it though is not fine.

This discussion is giving me the strange urge to build a DIY CIWS system.
 
the first US person that interdicts and seizes a government drone is going to make the hackaday front page for a week, can't wait.
 
You know, just because a drone crash landed on your property doesn't mean they were spying on you. Quadricopters are very light and a stiff wind can send it careening off your desired course. Doesn't mean someone is trying to spy on you.
 
Run it over like they did here: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index....ry_drone_crashes_near_pennsylvnia_school.html

Small military drone crashes near Pennsylvnia elementary school

WASHINGTON -- U.S. military officials today are investigating the crash of a small unmanned aircraft that went down Thursday afternoon near a central Pennsylvania school and a hotel.

The RQ-7 Shadow operated by the Pennsylvania National Guard crashed at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. One Army National Guard official described the accident as "a hard landing."

No one was hurt, but the 375-pound drone was promptly run over by a civilian vehicle in Lebanon County, authorities said.
 
Krenum said:
Pretty sure the air above your house doesn't count as your property. Just like the street in front of your house doesn't account for your property.
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It doesn't. You have the legal right to "fair use" of the airspace above your property, but it is common domain regardless of altitude.

The only way you can restrict access to your airspace is if you can use common law nuisance complaints, but it has to show significant damage to the primary purpose of the property to count.

For example back around WW2 era there was a chicken farm just off an airstrip. The planes taking off let out such a roar that some hens died in a panic and others produced fewer eggs, and so the law sided with the property owner because of the damage caused.

No way you could prove damages though for a RC aircraft under 50lbs with small electric props that make virtually no noise, and besides noise ordinances don't kick in until 10PM in most states (meaning no recourse if it doesn't make more noise than a neighbor using a leaf blower... pretty unlikely).

And if you think you have a right to privacy in your yard, Google has proven you wrong. Streetview is often mounted on high cameras that can overlook a lawn, and satellite and other high altitude photography naturally shows your lawn too. Someone can also even photograph your home for commercial use even if its looking inside your windows.

Want privacy? Close your blinds. Sorry, but that's the law.

All this talk of stealing and/or destroying property is just outright vandalism, and I hope the property owners would use the full weight of the law against those endorsing it.
 
pgaster said:
No one was hurt, but the 375-pound drone was promptly run over by a civilian vehicle in Lebanon County, authorities said.
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Garnish his wages until he's paid off the damage, and make that public news. That's what I'd recommend.
 
Aluisious said:
It shouldn't be over my property anyway. If they didn't get permission first they're lucky I'm just keeping the drone and not filing complaints of trespassing, invasion of privacy, etc.
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The police officer at the scene would hopefully not only demand that you return the property you have illegally seized, but also reprimand you for wasting his time with bogus charges.

People also don't seem to understand what trespassing laws are. If I wander onto your property, you have a right to ask me to leave. No more, no less. By law you cannot use more force than is warranted from the threat the invader represents to remove foreign person's or property either. Some plastic RC hobby drone that lands on your grass, or the person asking to retrieve their lost property, could not be reasonably perceived as presenting you grave harm. So all you can do is call the cops, and they will surely ask what's wrong with you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trespass
Generally, trespass to chattels possesses three elements:
Lack of consent. The interference with the property must be non-consensual. A claim does not lie if, in acquiring the property, the purchaser consents contractually to certain access by the seller. "[A]ny use exceeding the consent" authorized by the contract, should it cause harm, gives rise to a cause for action.[54]
Actual harm. The interference with the property must result in actual harm.[7] The threshold for actual harm varies by jurisdiction. In California, for instance, an electronic message may constitute a trespass if the message interferes with the functioning of the computer hardware, but the plaintiff must prove that this interference caused actual hardware damage or actual impaired functioning.[55]
Intentionality. The interference must be intentional. What constitutes intention varies by jurisdiction, however, the Restatement (Second) of Torts indicates that "intention is present when an act is done for the purpose of using or otherwise intermeddling with a chattel or with knowledge that such an intermeddling will, to a substantial certainty, result from the act", and continues: "t is not necessary that the actor should know or have reason to know that such intermeddling is a violation of the possessory rights of another".[56]
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A RC plane crashing on your property is clearly NOT intentional nor producing any harm if it didn't damage your property. You fail 2/3rds of the requirements.
 
pgaster said:
Run it over like they did here: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index....ry_drone_crashes_near_pennsylvnia_school.html

Small military drone crashes near Pennsylvnia elementary school

WASHINGTON -- U.S. military officials today are investigating the crash of a small unmanned aircraft that went down Thursday afternoon near a central Pennsylvania school and a hotel.

The RQ-7 Shadow operated by the Pennsylvania National Guard crashed at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. One Army National Guard official described the accident as "a hard landing."

No one was hurt, but the 375-pound drone was promptly run over by a civilian vehicle in Lebanon County, authorities said.
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LOL @ the Amish comments,waiting for "It spooked the horse and he pummeled it"
 
Kueller said:
You wouldn't want your dog eating a battery pack. Plus the little spars and blades and bits could very well puncture your dog's intestine if he actually eats rather than merely chews on a drone.
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You're right, I wouldn't. :) I spend a lot of time and money making sure that she chews only safe things. She is rather mouth obsessed. To be fair to her, she prefers chewing to destroy over chewing to eat.
 
Ideally they are registered members of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) and as such should already have their contact info and member number on the drone.
 
One word: "MINE!" And when people came to ask about it: "What drone? I did see an alien ship last night that I would like to report while you're here."

I'd disable its tracking capabilities and use it for my own ends. Maybe some mad scientist shit, or just use it to peep on hot ladies in the neighborhood. Skin surveillance brought to you by the stealth dermatologist in the sky!
 
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