Aerial photojournalists covering the ongoing Standing Rock pipeline protest in North Dakota have had their wings clipped by a temporary ban on drone use in the area by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The temporary flight restriction began on Saturday 26 November and will end on Friday 2 December. The wording of the order denies use of drones by any non-enforcement personnel within a four mile radius of the protest site epicentre. This exclusion of use pertains not only to members of the public but to press as well.

Prior to this ban, several pieces of aerial footage from the site have been broadcast on television news or gone viral online. These have included disconcerting scenes of police firing on protesters with less than lethal weapons and blasting them with water cannons, in an effort to make the protesters disperse. There are obvious concerns that this blanket ban, temporary as may be, severely censors coverage of the situation in an unjust manner. Footage of this type has previously been used during other disturbances (such as August 2014’s Ferguson Riots) to great effect.

Drone footage showing water cannons being used on water protectors

At the end of the clip, they try to shoot drone w/ water cannon#NoDAPL pic. twitter. com/N0S1Sic2TQ

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The FAA claim that the temporary restrictions are not politically motivated but are a necessary safety precaution. In response to coverage of the directive by Forbes, the FAA issued the following statement:

"The Federal Aviation Administration carefully considers requests from law enforcement and other entities before establishing Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in U. S. airspace. The TFR currently over the pipeline protest was approved to ensure the safety of aircraft in support of law enforcement and the safety of people on the ground.

The TFR includes provisions for media to operate aircraft – both traditional and unmanned – inside the TFR, provided that operators comply with the language of the Notice to Airmen. In the case of unmanned aircraft, operators must also comply with the requirements of Part 107 and coordinate beforehand with the FAA. We’ve had no requests from media who meet those requirements.

Although the FAA is aware of anecdotal reports of drones being shot down, the agency has received only one official report. On Oct. 23, a drone was shot down with bean bags after allegedly being flown in a threatening manner near a law enforcement helicopter. That incident is still under investigation.

The agency also is investigating several incidents in which protestors have allegedly flown their drones in violation of the provisions of the TFR. "

The protest, which began in March 2016, is primarily being undertaken by Native Americans who object to the construction of an oil pipeline upstream of the Standing Rock Reservation, due to the potential for adverse health and environmental effects. At the current time, there have been various reports of alleged violence against the protesters by the law enforcement personnel attempting to remove them.

2016-11-29 03:00