Title: Drone Operator Safety Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Drone Operator Safety Act of 2017
This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly or recklessly operate an unmanned aircraft that interferes with or disrupts an aircraft or airborne vehicle carrying at least one occupant in U.S. airspace.
It imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term, or both—on a violator.
The prohibition includes the unauthorized operation of an unmanned aircraft within an airport's runway exclusion zone (i.e., defined area of controlled airspace around an active runway) unless the operation is the result of an unforeseeable circumstance (e.g., a malfunction).

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1755 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1755

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit unsafe operation of 
               unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2017

Mr. Whitehouse introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit unsafe operation of 
               unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Drone Operator Safety Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. UNSAFE OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in section 31--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by redesignating paragraph (10) as 
                        paragraph (11); and
                            (ii) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 
                        following:
            ``(10) Unmanned aircraft.--The term `unmanned aircraft' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 331 of the FAA 
        Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95; 49 
        U.S.C. 40101 note).''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b), by inserting ```airport','' 
                before ```appliance',''; and
            (2) by inserting after section 39A the following:
``Sec. 39B. Unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft
    ``(a) Offense.--It shall be unlawful to operate an unmanned 
aircraft and, in so doing, knowingly or recklessly interfering with, or 
disrupting the operation of, an aircraft or other airborne vehicle 
carrying 1 or more occupants operating in the special aircraft 
jurisdiction of the United States, in a manner that poses an imminent 
safety hazard to such occupants.
    ``(b) Penalty.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        person who violates subsection (a) shall be fined under this 
        title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
            ``(2) Serious bodily injury or death.--Any person who 
        attempts to cause, or knowingly or recklessly causes, serious 
        bodily injury or death while violating subsection (a) shall be 
        fined under this title, imprisoned for any term of years or for 
        life, or both.
    ``(c) Operation of Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to 
Airports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The operation of an unmanned aircraft, 
        including an operation covered by section 336 of the FAA 
        Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95; 49 
        U.S.C. 40101 note), within a runway exclusion zone shall be 
        considered a violation of subsection (a) unless--
                    ``(A) the operator of the unmanned aircraft 
                received prior authorization for the operation from the 
                air traffic control tower at the airport; or
                    ``(B) the operation is the result of a 
                circumstance, such as a malfunction, that could not 
                have been reasonably foreseen or prevented by the 
                operator.
            ``(2) Runway exclusion zone defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term `runway exclusion zone' means a rectangular area--
                    ``(A) centered on the centerline of a runway of an 
                airport; and
                    ``(B) the length of which extends parallel to the 
                runway's centerline to points that are 1 statute mile 
                from each end of the runway and the width of which is 
                \1/2\ statute mile.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 2 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 39A the following:

``39B. Unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft.''.
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