North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Flying Drone Inside Runway Exclusion Zone at Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Marco Antonio Ochoa, 50, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft after launching a drone inside a runway exclusion zone at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in March. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina, Ochoa flew the drone from the airport's public Airport Overlook, an observation park situated between two active runways.

Ochoa now faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, and up to one year of supervised release. The flight was investigated by the FBI and the Federal Air Marshal Service. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said: "Flying drones is a fun activity but can be dangerous if flown in prohibited areas. That's why it's important for operators to be familiar with any flight restrictions and permit requirements before launching drones."

Cases like this fall into a category airports and regulators have flagged repeatedly: recreational drone flights launched from publicly accessible vantage points that sit close to active runways. An observation area designed for planespotters can double as a launch point for unauthorized flights into airspace that commercial aircraft depend on remaining clear during takeoff and landing.

Runway exclusion zones exist precisely because low-altitude drone incursions near active runways carry collision risk with departing and arriving traffic, and enforcement here involved two federal agencies, the FBI and the Federal Air Marshal Service, rather than a civil penalty alone. That signals unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft near active runways is being treated as a criminal matter with the possibility of prison time, not just a fine.

What happens at sentencing, including whether the maximum penalties are applied, will indicate how aggressively federal prosecutors intend to pursue similar cases at other airports with publicly accessible overlooks near runways.