New York, New York
1/19/2016
In August 2015 the FAA proposed penalties in the amount of $18,700 against drone filming company Xizmo Media because they did a filming job part of which included using a drone to film the Fordham Graduation Commencement Ceremony. Although no incident occurred, and the job appeared to go well, Xizmo Media later received notice of investigation by the FAA, according to Xizmo Media Pilot Edward Kostakis.
According to Ed, “The job had gone so well and Fordham really liked our final edit”, however, “then we got the letter in the mail.” The notice informed them that the FAA was charging Xizmo Media with $18,700 in fines for an array of unauthorized activity. The numerous allegations included flying in class B airspace, improper registrations, and reckless endangerment. In response Xizmo Media retained the law office of Callahan & Robinson, P.C. to negotiate with the FAA in hopes of resolving the matter.
Ed says he chose Callahan & Robinson, P.C. after hearing good feedback regarding their handling of other drones cases. After a series of negotiations and a financial affidavit submission to the FAA, the matter was resolved with an official order on January 15th, 2016 for an amount not yet disclosed. When asked for comment, Attorney Joseph A. Robinson noted that a resolution of the matter may not have occurred without the highly professional assistance of the FAA’s Counsel Office. Ed is thankful that his legal counsel and the FAA were able to come to an understanding on the matter and says he is doing everything possible to stay in line with all the requirements of commercial drone filming. “I feel like I learned from this.” he said.