Southeast PA Man Illegally Flew Drone Over NFC Championship Game: Feds

CHADDS FORD, PA — A Southeastern Pennsylvania man has been federally charged after authorities said he illegally flew a drone over the NFL's AFC Championship game on Jan. 28 in Baltimore.

Matthew Hebert, age 44, of Chadds Ford, was hit with federal felony charges related to his flying a drone over M&T Bank stadium during the National Football League’s AFC Championship game in Baltimore on Jan. 28, federal authorities said.

"Illegally operating drones poses a significant security risk that will lead to federal charges," United States Attorney Erek L. Barron said. "Temporary flight restrictions are always in place during large sporting events."

Federal authorities said on Jan. 28, the Federal Aviation Administration had put in place a temporary flight restriction — known as a TFR — for M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore during the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. The restriction precluded the flight of any UAS, including flying a UAS under the Exception for Recreational Flyers.

A TFR temporarily restricts certain aircraft, including an UAS, from operating within a three nautical mile radius of the stadium. This is a standard practice for stadiums or sporting venues where a regular or postseason Major League Baseball, NFL, or NCAA Division One Game is occurring; or a NASCAR Cup, Indy Car, or Champ Series Race is occurring. The TFR goes into effect one hour before the scheduled start time and lasts until one hour after the end of a qualifying event.

During the game, "the incursion of an unidentified and unapproved drone was deemed a serious enough threat that NFL Security temporarily suspended the game," authorities said.

Maryland State Police Troopers tracked the movement of the drone directly over the stadium and deployed to the area where the drone landed in the 500 block of South Sharp Street in Baltimore. FBI agents traveled to that location and assisted MSP Troopers. Hebert was located at that location and spoke with law enforcement.

Hebert told authorities he bought a DJI UAS in 2021 and used the DJI account to operate the drone. The drone was not registered, nor did Hebert possess a Remote Pilot certificate to operate it.

As detailed in the affidavit, on past occasions, the DJI application prevented him from operating the UAS due to flight restrictions and Hebert relied exclusively on the DJI application to tell him if he was not allowed to fly the UAS.

Authorities allege that on Jan. 28, Hebert assumed he was allowed to fly his UAS since the DJI application did not prevent him from doing so.

Hebert allegedly flew the drone approximately 100 meters or higher for about two minutes, authorities said.

According to the affidavit, while in flight, Hebert captured about six photos of himself and the stadium, and may have taken a video as well.

If convicted, Hebert faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for knowingly operating an unregistered UAS and for knowingly serving as an airman without an airman’s certificate. Hebert faces a maximum of one year in federal prison for willfully violating United States National Defense Airspace.