ARLINGTON, Texas — An FBI Task Force officer has accused Jason Carvell Banner of flying a drone around Globe Life Field while it was under a temporary flight restriction (TFR) during a Texas Rangers game.
According to the criminal complaint, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a TFR, which temporarily restricts all aircraft from operating within three nautical miles of any regular or postseason Major League Baseball game.
This is also known as the stadium TFR, and it goes into effect one hour before the start of an event and ends one hour after the event is over.
The criminal complaint says that on Oct. 19, 2023, Arlington police officers responded to parking lot D of the stadium about a small unmanned aircraft -- or a drone -- while the Rangers hosted the Houston Astros.
According to the document, Texas Rangers security was with the accused operator, Banner.
Banner allegedly admitted to police that he was flying the drone that evening and let an FBI special agent examine it after this confession, the document states.
According to the criminal complaint, Banner did not have an Airman's certificate and the drone was not registered with the FAA, both are required in order for him to legally fly the drone.
A federal search warrant was issued and the drone's flight data and photos were examined by law enforcement. This revealed photos of Globe Life Field on that day, as well as a photo above the stadium, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint states that the FBI Task Force officer confirmed the drone had flown in the TFR area and with his experience he noted that the drone has a feature that alerts operators if they are in a restricted airspace.
Due to this knowledge, the Task Force officer believes that Banner knowingly and willfully violated the TFR, the complaint states.
Violating a TFR could mean a fine of up to $10,000, up to a year in federal prison -- or both, according to the Legal Information Institute.
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