Green Day concertgoers recall drone disruptions; FAA investigates

DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident involving a drone, disrupted Green Day’s Wednesday night concert in Detroit.

Detroit police said someone was flying an unauthorized drone over Comerica Park, which caused the band members to take precautions and leave the stage.

Watch videos of the situation at Comerica Park below:

Video: Green Day’s Detroit concert briefly interrupted as the band quickly left the stage

DPD said the drone operator was detained outside the stadium.

“I caught it before anything came off stage. I looked and thought, ‘Oh, that drone has no right to be here.’ And then two seconds later, they were thrown off stage.” Said Mikey Nichols, who was at the concert.

He recorded footage of a mysterious drone that disrupted the concert about 20 minutes after it started.

Nina Maquet, another die-hard Green Day fan, said she spotted the drone from below.

“Suddenly we were all standing there and we saw one of the backstage security guys come out.” she remembered.

The band was quickly removed from the stage and the performance was suspended.

“The drone was in the air for about five minutes” Nichols said: “It didn’t look like it was getting any closer to doing anything. It looked like the person piloting probably wanted to watch the show for free.

Maquet said, “It was quite scary because we didn’t know what was going to happen. and you know, living in this day and age, with all these terrible things happening, you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know what to think.”

The concert resumed normally after approximately 10 minutes.

On Thursday afternoon, DPD told 7 News Detroit it had turned the investigation over to the FAA.

Greg Reverdiau, co-founder of the Pilots Institute, said: “This happens a lot at baseball and football games.”

Reverdiau, who is currently at a drone conference in Arizona, shared his knowledge with 7 News Detroit. He said that while there is a legitimate way to fly a drone with the right equipment and the right authorization, a temporary flight restriction, or TFR, typically applies.

It is essentially a “no-fly zone” for unauthorized persons and was implemented by the FAA for safety reasons.

“If, for example, the president is traveling, there is always a TFR when the president is traveling, so you are not allowed to fly planes or drones in the airspace,” Reverdiau explained. “Some shows have them, but not all. A lot of the big events like the NFL, NHL and MLB.”

7 News Detroit contacted the FAA, which described the incident as “potentially hazardous.”

“While the agency does not have the authority to prosecute crimes, drone operators who endanger other aircraft or people on the ground could be subject to fines exceeding $30,000. In addition, the FAA may suspend or revoke the pilot licenses of drone operators,” the FAA said in a statement.