3 ms·

In the US there is no such thing as personal airspace to trespass in. What one has is a right of way to build structures into the airspace as a property owner a

by Varcht 12y ago

In the US there is no such thing as personal airspace to trespass in. What one has is a right of way to build structures into the airspace as a property owner and a reasonable expectation of privacy neither preventing overflight.

mercnet 12y ago
It looks like land owners do have some rights to their properties airspace: At the same time, the law, and the Supreme Court, recognized that a landowner had property rights in the lower reaches of the airspace above their property. The law, in balancing the public interest in using the airspace for air navigation against the landowner's rights, declared that a landowner owns only so much of the airspace above their property as they may reasonably use in connection with their enjoyment of the underlying land. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights [Edit] Completely missed your last sentence when commenting! I couldn't find any cases where someone went to court over someone violating their airspace besides people arguing over airport flight paths.
- Zaephyr 12y ago
  United States v. Causby 328 U.S. 256 (1946)
evanb 12y ago
There was an interesting Planet Money not long ago about the legal issues in the US: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/30/317074394/drone-wars-who-owns-the-air http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/30/317074394/drone-wa...
Zaephyr 12y ago
It is possible depending on the area. Overflight is permitted in Navigable Airspace. In rural areas flight below 500 feet above ground level is prohibited in general. Note drones are still a grey area as the FAA has not issued rules covering them. The Supreme Court has found flight below 90' trespass, but did not rule on where navigable airspace begins. (In this specific case somewhere above 83'). Also note that while you can build to significant heights in the airspace above your property; if the FAA finds your structure to be a hazard to air navigation you will find it near impossible to get liability insurance. Often cell towers are built just short of 200' AGL so a determination doesn't have to be made under FAR77. Again, it's a complex issue and I'm speaking generally about (FAA defined) rural areas. Urban areas have different rules and standards.

by Varcht 12y ago

mercnet 12y ago

It looks like land owners do have some rights to their properties airspace: At the same time, the law, and the Supreme Court, recognized that a landowner had property rights in the lower reaches of the airspace above their property. The law, in balancing the public interest in using the airspace for air navigation against the landowner's rights, declared that a landowner owns only so much of the airspace above their property as they may reasonably use in connection with their enjoyment of the underlying land. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights [Edit] Completely missed your last sentence when commenting! I couldn't find any cases where someone went to court over someone violating their airspace besides people arguing over airport flight paths.

Zaephyr 12y ago
United States v. Causby 328 U.S. 256 (1946)

evanb 12y ago

There was an interesting Planet Money not long ago about the legal issues in the US: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/30/317074394/drone-wars-who-owns-the-air http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/30/317074394/drone-wa...

Zaephyr 12y ago

It is possible depending on the area. Overflight is permitted in Navigable Airspace. In rural areas flight below 500 feet above ground level is prohibited in general. Note drones are still a grey area as the FAA has not issued rules covering them. The Supreme Court has found flight below 90' trespass, but did not rule on where navigable airspace begins. (In this specific case somewhere above 83'). Also note that while you can build to significant heights in the airspace above your property; if the FAA finds your structure to be a hazard to air navigation you will find it near impossible to get liability insurance. Often cell towers are built just short of 200' AGL so a determination doesn't have to be made under FAR77. Again, it's a complex issue and I'm speaking generally about (FAA defined) rural areas. Urban areas have different rules and standards.