Seattle wants drone rules after Space Needle buzzing

SEATTLE — Seattle officials are looking for new ways to push for drone regulation to be enforced by the Federal Aviation Administration after a small drone buzzed the Space Needle last week.

Seattle City councilmember Bruce Harrell said privacy is the main concern. The FAA says it is investigating the Space Needle drone incident, but people like Harrell aren't expecting much to change in policy just yet.

"I like a nice skyline, and I don't like a lot of objects flying in a beautiful sunset," said Harrell.

Last week, witnesses saw a drone fly around the top of the landmark Space Needle. An uploaded video taken by a camera on the drone shows visitors at the observation tower of the Needle waving to the drone, which then flew back to a window at a nearby hotel, where a man operating a remote "catches" the drone. The video went viral.

Investigators tracked the drone to a guest — an Amazon employee visiting from out of state — who had bought the drone at a hobby shop. Seattle-based Amazon has been one of the most high-profile technology companies with a drone strategy, unveiling in December an ambition to deliver packages by drones.

The original video was posted by Alex Klinghoffer, according to the YouTube user who reposted the video on YouTube. Klinghoffer is a Dallas-based marketing professional at Amazon, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Flying drones for commercial use is prohibited by the FAA, and enforcing any drone regulation falls under the authority of the FAA. However, the city still has some options at its disposal. Harrell says a majority of people in Seattle want some ground rules in place for the unmanned aircraft hovering around the city.

Police say their hands are tied with drones except in certain cases. Officers can enforce a reckless endangerment state law if a drone poses a safety risk to people.

On the legislative side, Harrell said the city council is considering passing a policy directive that will send a message to the federal government, telling the FAA to get on board with an aggressive drone policy.

"The problem is ... if they are not doing their job, which is protecting the air space, then what is the city to do?" said Harrell. "I don't want to say I'm anti-drone, but I'll say they raise a lot of health and safety concerns that we are very concerned about."

A vote on a policy directive supporting drone regulation had not been scheduled as of early Tuesday.

Laura Mandaro contributed to this report.