Yellowstone Smacks Down Drones

Just weeks after a visitor crashed a drone into Yellowstone National Park’s largest hot spring, park officials have filed criminal charges against the alleged pilot, and are stepping up their efforts to publicize and enforce a ban on unmanned aerial vehicles in the park.

Theodorus Van Vliet of the Netherlands has been charged in connection with an Aug. 2 incident in which authorities say he crashed his unmanned aircraft into Grand Prismatic Spring. The drone sank into the popular hot spring and has not been found.

Van Vliet is cooperating with the ongoing investigation, according to a statement released Friday by the park’s public affairs office, and faces up to $5,000 in fines and/or six months in jail if found guilty.

The National Park Service has banned drones from all national parks due to what officials describe as “concerns about public safety, wildlife disturbance and potential impacts to the visitor experience and park resources.”

The increasing ease of use and affordability of small, lightweight aerial vehicles has made them popular among photographers and sightseers who use them to capture video and photos from previously unattainable vantage points.

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