FAA To Fine Ag Drone Operator $289,215.00 For 15 Flights

Last week, the FAA proposed a $289,215.00 Fine Against Gorge Drones for Unmanned Aircraft System Violations.

Per the FAA’s website: “The FAA alleges Gorge Drones operated a drone on 15 occasions to dispense fertilizer when it did not have an agricultural aircraft operator certificate. In addition, the FAA alleges the drone was not registered with the FAA and did not have an airworthiness certificate.

The alleged violations occurred on various dates between March 2025 and April 2025.”

Here’s why that should be a major wake-up call to our industry: (1) That’s not that much - compared to what the FAA could have fined him; (2) Gorge Drones seemed to have been in the process of becoming compliant, and; (3) When compared to full-tempo drone operations, 15 fertilizer deposition flights is a drop in the bucket.

A $289,215.00 Fine was Letting Gorge Drones Off Light

The FAA has a ‘per-occurrence’ fine structure capped at $75,000.00 per violation. Occurrences and violations don’t refer to one operator - an ‘occurrence’ or ‘violation’ is each time a drone leaves the ground. That means the FAA only charged Gorge Drones $19,281.00 per violation, 26% of the maximum. Now, an important note is that, much like the flashy headlines when there’s an accident at a Wal-Mart, hopefully Gorge Drones will secure an attorney and negotiate a substantially lower fine - but that’s not guaranteed.

Gorge Drones Was In the Process of Becoming Compliant

To be clear: Being FAA compliant, much like pregnancy, is not something that you can ‘sorta’ be. But Gorge Drones had their 107 and was apparently in the process of getting a Part 137 and 44807. This should be a big warning to the ag-drone community. Yes, the current system takes way too long - ADI is working hard to fix it, but it takes time - but the fact that it’s not workable for farmers to wait a year after buying the drone to fly it, is not something that the FAA cares about (which they absolutely should - but we try to explain the world as it is, not how we would have it be).

That said, there are mitigating factors in how fines are assessed and this was likely taken into account.

These Flights Were Pretty Tame

While the FAA takes all operations seriously, for other ag-drone operators who are not compliant, think about how tame this operational framework was: 15 flights to dispense fertilizer. Fertilizer doesn’t drift and is way less regulated than spray chemicals. When a professional operation is running smoothly, 15 flights is about three hours of work.

Start Taking the Regulations More Seriously - and Know There’s Likely More To Come

We already know the FAA can track and log flights and remote control locations moment-to-moment over the horizon. This announcement came from work that occurred almost a year and a half ago. Hopefully this is not the start of a heavy enforcement push on infractions that are already logged, but it’s impossible to know.

Think about that for a second if you’re flying without the proper certification - an operator in the process of trying to be compliant, doing three hours of work, spreading non-toxic fertilizers got fined $19,281.00 per flight. How many operators have months of flights logged, spraying pesticides, and aren’t even in the application pipeline with the FAA.

Well, this is f#&$%!-ing depressing to read - What do we do?

Well, if you’re reading this, you may already be a member, but join ADI and help support the work we do! We are extremely active at the Federal level working to improve all of this for the ag-drone community but want your help and input!

We’re funded by a private grant that isn’t tied to any ag-interests or specific drone company. We are 100% independent and 100% dedicated to helping American farmers get the best drones they can while working with regulators so that our industry is seen as partners in the process, not part of the problem.

Reach out, get your drones registered, be good and safe pilots so the industry doesn’t get a bad name, and come join us in making sure all of this gets done the right way!