BALTIMORE — A Pennsylvania man is facing federal felony charges for allegedly flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium during the AFC Championship Game.
During the game, the sight of the drone was deemed a serious enough threat that the National Football League temporarily suspended the game.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the FAA had put in place a temporary flight restriction for M&T Bank Stadium during the game, which restricts certain aircraft, including a UAS, from operating within a three-nautical mile radius of the stadium.
Troopers with the Maryland State Police tracked the movement of the drone and went to the area where the drone landed in the 500 block of South Sharp Street.
FBI agents followed the troopers to the location and found the suspect, Herbert Matthews, 44, at the location.
Herbert told law enforcement that he purchased a DJI UAS in 2021 and used the DJI account to operate the drone
The drone was not registered, nor did Matthews have a Remote Pilot certificate to operate it.
In past occasions, the DJI application prevented Matthews from operating the drone due to flight restrictions and he relied exclusively on the DJI application to tell him if he was not allowed to fly it.
He says he assumed he was allowed to fly the drone since the DJI application did not prevent him from doing so.
According to authorities, he captured six photos of himself and the stadium and he may have taken video as well.
If convicted, Matthews faces up to four years in federal prison.
An initial appearance and arraignment will be scheduled later in February.
