On Sunday, the football match between the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons was suspended and postponed. It was reported that an unmanned aircraft was found near or above the Lumen Stadium.
This is the second time this weekend that the competition was interrupted by a drone over Seattle Stadium. On Saturday night, a rogue drone caused problems at Husky Stadium during a match between Washington University and Stanford University.
Sunday’s suspension occurred at around 6:30 in the fourth quarter. The referee, Tra Blake, announced that he would stop playing because of “NFL safety” and that both players were required to leave the stadium. The delay lasted about 8 minutes.
Players and coaches can be seen looking up at the sky, but drones have never been shown on television. The game continued, with Atlanta winning 27-23.
Jennifer Hale, a Fox Sports live reporter, said in the program broadcast by Seahawk TV that the Washington Sports Department should be responsible for the drone that occurred on Saturday. The drone “lost contact and became a rogue”
The Federal Aviation Administration has made strict laws to prohibit UAVs from flying in or around stadiums with a capacity of 30000 or more. It is prohibited to use UAVs one hour before and one hour after the scheduled time of NFL, MLB, NCAAF or NASCAR events.
The head of NFL security told Bloomberg earlier this month why the alliance was worried about these devices.
“To be honest, I’m worried about this evil actor,” said Kathy Lanier, chief security officer. She added that malicious operators could lead to “catastrophic consequences”.
Violations may result in civil penalties of up to $37377 and potential criminal prosecution.
When the UAV operator is approved and the equipment works normally, the aerial shot may look like this