Bill > HR4911

This bill, titled the Drone Operator Safety Act, aims to establish criminal penalties for the unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft, commonly known as drones. It emphasizes the importance of educating drone operators about existing laws and regulations to ensure safe operation and encourages the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the government agency responsible for aviation safety, to continue public outreach efforts like the "Know Before You Fly" campaign. The core of the bill amends federal law to create a new offense for operating a drone in a way that knowingly or recklessly interferes with or disrupts an aircraft carrying people, posing an imminent safety hazard; such an offense could result in a fine, up to one year in prison, or both, with penalties escalating to life imprisonment if serious bodily injury or death occurs. Furthermore, it specifically defines operating a drone within a "runway exclusion zone" – a designated area around active airport runways in controlled airspace – as a violation unless authorized by air traffic control or due to an unforeseeable malfunction, thereby adding a specific safety measure for drone operations near airports.