18 U.S.C. § 39B — Unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft

(a) Offense: A drone operator commits a crime if they: (1) knowingly interfere with or disrupt the operation of an aircraft^* carrying one or more occupants, operating in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States^*, in a way that poses an imminent safety hazard to those occupants; or (2) do the same thing recklessly instead of knowingly. Either is punished as set out in subsection (c).

(b) Operation of Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to Airports: (1) In general — it is a crime to knowingly operate a drone inside a "runway exclusion zone" without authorization, punished as set out in subsection (c). (2) Runway exclusion zone defined — a "runway exclusion zone" is a rectangular area centered on the centerline of an active runway at an airport immediately surrounded by class B, class C, or class D airspace at the surface. It extends parallel to the runway's centerline out to points one statute mile past each end of the runway, and it is one-half statute mile wide.

(c) Penalty: (1) In general — except as provided in paragraph (2), violating subsection (a) or (b) is punished by a fine under this title, imprisonment of not more than 1 year, or both. (2) Serious bodily injury or death — (A) causing serious bodily injury or death while committing the reckless offense in subsection (a)(2) is punished by a fine, imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both. (B) Causing, attempting, or conspiring to cause serious bodily injury or death while committing the offenses in subsection (a)(1) or (b) is punished by a fine, imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both.