Chinese drone manufacturer DJI announced this week that they will be shutting down the “Geofencing” feature, which restricts their drones from flying in certain areas in the United States such as airports, military bases, and disaster response zones.
The timing of this cancellation of the factory-set feature by DJI is peculiar. Reports suggest that the FBI and the FAA are searching for the operator of a DJI drone that flew illegally and collided with an aircraft involved in fighting the wildfires in Los Angeles, causing damage to a Canadian Super Scooper firefighting aircraft, rendering it unusable.
According to DJI’s statement, this change will convert restricted areas or no-fly zones in the United States into “enhanced warning zones” to align with FAA designated areas.
In January 2015, a DJI drone breached security at the White House, crashing on the grounds which prompted an immediate lockdown and emergency investigation.
Following that incident, DJI equipped their drones with factory software features to prevent drones from taking off or entering certain restricted areas.
The company claims that since 2015, global drone regulations have significantly evolved, and in the United States, new federally mandated regulations like “Remote ID” have been enforced, making it “easier to detect and enforce against unauthorized drone operations.”
DJI also stated that this move will “empower drone operators by handing over control and aligning with the regulatory principle of operators taking ultimate responsibility.”
The Verge, a U.S. technology news and media network, quoted DJI’s Global Policy Director, Adam Welsh, as saying, “This provides the tools necessary for authorities to enforce existing rules.”
However, DJI’s former Global Policy Director, Brendan Schulman, doesn’t seem to see the benefits in this decision. He took to the social media platform X to post, “There is significant evidence amassed over many years that geofencing based on risk contributes greatly to aviation safety.”
He added, “Interesting timing: a decade after a DJI drone crashed on the White House lawn, DJI removes the geofencing feature that automatically prevented such an event, replacing it with user-selectable warnings.”