Appeals court strikes down FAA registration rule on drones

A drone flew high above Petco Park during Sunday's Padres-D-backs game and crashed just minutes into flight in the upper deck!

Scenes like this may soon be more common. On Friday, an appeals court struck down an FAA rule requiring amateur drone owners to register their crafts.

Flite Factory owner Dustin Pennington says enthusiasts are thrilled.

"They just want that freedom, you know, they don't want somebody having their information that they don't want to have it," he said.

Dustin says it's the few bad apples that give drone users a bad name, but wildfire crews say civilian crafts are a danger to pilots. In 2015, drones hampered fire fighting efforts in the San Bernardino mountains.

"In real cost in what we lost, yeah 5,000 gallons, $10,000, $15,000 that's not the big part of it," said Mike Eaton, forest aviation officer with the U.S. Forest Service. "The big part of it is we had to shut down subsequent missions."

Friday's ruling is a setback for the FAA. The administration says it's carefully reviewing the court decision and released a statement that says in part:

"The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe... We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision."

"We try to educate people on the rules and etiquette flying around people trying to be safe and stuff like that, but there are people who just don't care."