6000 euros fine for flying a drone in national park El Teide, Tenerife, Spain!!!

I was flying my Phantom 4 in the neighborhood of the big volcanic dome El Teide on Tenerife. There are some beautiful exposed rocks out there and I was flying in between them filming.
A park ranger noticed the drone and started out looking for me...

Equipment used:
* ADV screen recorder
* Panasonic HC-V550
* Gopro Hero 2 and 3
* Adobe Premiere Pro

[beribear]

I just sold my phantom 3 to buy the mavic pro but I'm debating on even having one anymore. I looks like you can't fly drones anywhere anymore. The areas worldwide are getting more and more restrictive.

[roforroid]

Same in National Parks here in Australia. But if you have the cash to pay for a photography permit you can. Just proves drone bans here are all about collecting money, not about protecting wildlife or annoying people.

[MrRechtsfuss]

6000€ = expensive? He actually didn't pay a cent. So all there was, was a conversation and getting the drone back. Actually I find it quite "nice".

[bits]

where can you actually fly in tenerife then, it seem to be restricted everywhere on the island?

[lenardgor]

in the vids you just fly wherever you want without even caring about local rules and laws inform yourself

[JuiceLBK]

it is a national park rule. A lot of parks have signs posted. Also I believe when you register your drone with the FAA it states this rule. It is for the wildlife. I know here in the US there was an issue where people flew drones which scared and separated some bison calfs from the herd. I spoke with a Park Ranger last year and he informed me the ban is just until they can do research and figure out if they can limit it to a restrictions on certain activity.

[BadOldBuzzard]

And, that's why I said "If you knew. ..." FYI, if you visit us in the U.S., you can't fly in any NP and you cannot land in, or take off from within a Wilderness Area. However, it isn't illegal (though ethically questionable) to take off/land outside a Wilderness Area but fly over it. Here, individual state parks may have similar rules, so one has to do the research (best done ahead of time). Glad you weren't aware of the ban! 😀

[oliverhengs]

As much as I feel sorry for you, Teide National Park is actually within restriction area GCR148, stretching from the surface up to flight level 90 (3 km) where all air traffic (incl UAV's) is prohibited unless you have received an explicite permit from the ATC organ (air traffic control).

By flying there, you were in fact violating international air traffic regulations. Claiming that you did not know is not an option, UAV operators must check national AIP and NOTAM documents prior to flying to avoid accidentally flying near high security facilities, like classified military areas or prisons. That might lead to much worse consequences than just a 660 Euro fine.

I know it is weird: after all, what harm can a small Phantom do? But it would have been the same if you would hire a Cessna for a few turns over the park. You would even risk your pilot license.

In this case I would just pay. If you want to be safe, consider purchasing a flight nav app, like SkyDemon (there are others, but that's the one I am using). Or I can provide you with PDF maps, just let me know.

[reetra]

Hello, i was wondering how you are able to get your drone so far? Do you have some kind of range extender?

[TeslaDawg]

I agree with you 100%. These drone rules and laws are ridiculous. I bought a Mavic Pro last year because I thought it would be nice to get video from the air of my travels only to find out out that most state and national parks are off limits on the USA.

[Dronethat]

I fly drones and follow rules. Almost all National Parks in North America have strict regulations on drones. Funny when you mention drones, this tiny battery-operated, not even up to 25min flying thingy, not even a horsepower machine rings so bad to peoples ears!So why not ban jetskiis on beaches and lakes or cars on the road as well?

[BruceLevickbrusca]

Ridiculous!! What is the issue? I hope you got clarification on why and where it is indicated you are not allowed to fly??

[GustavoAguiar]

Hi, how did you manage to record google earth animation zoom? I tried before without success, it does only "inside" the software. I want to get the video into Premiere for example. Thanks in advance!

[devanois]

It's a pity you cannot fly a drone in those amazing places. I like your footage, it shows how amazing is that landscape. I like how smooth you pan around, it's quite cinematic, except that little part where the gimbal moved so suddenly. I am glad you were lucky and they did not fine you 👍. Let's hope they lift these kind of restrictions in the near future.

[jogalong]

The ranger was really nice to let you go like this...

[DSSlocksmiths]

"You can't take the sky from me"
"Sir, there's a €6000 fine for flying things"
"Oh. <Chinese swearing>"

[prsandiego]

Hello.. What are the model googles you are using?

[BadOldBuzzard]

If you knew you shouldn't be flying in a national park, but did so anyway, shame on you! It just invites more rules and regulations for the rest of us who are trying to fly legally and safely.

[mantealis]

He only gave you a warning. I think video is a click bait

[skyroam]

I was asked to leave a park or they would call the police to have me thrown out as I was filming my wife in a charity fun run. I was using my P3P camera due to the gimbal to stabilise the film and was using the drone WITHOUT the blades just as a handheld camera. When I pointed out that everyone there was using their phones to film and many of the runners had go pros on their head and my 4K camera without the blades was just a camera. They kept saying no it's a drone as if it was something sinister and dangerous.