Stupidity that's sky high!

When it comes to stupidity, the sky is literally the limit! A recent video showing a drone flying within metres of a commercial airliner over Las Vegas has stunned and outraged viewers at the sheer stupidity of the act, as well as prompted three influential U.S. aviation lobbies to call for tighter regulations on hobby drones. And if idiotic practices like this continue, it’s only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

Legislation exempting certain hobbyist drone pilots from oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration has hampered the aviation agency’s ability to oversee safety of drones, according to a letter recently sent to lawmakers. The letter was from Airlines for America, a trade group representing large carriers, and the Air Line Pilots Association and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association was sent to lawmakers recently outlining their concerns with current policy in the USA. Legislation now in place exempts certain hobbyist drone pilots from oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration, and this has hampered the aviation agency’s ability to oversee safety of drones.

“We strongly urge you to remove legislative restrictions that have been placed on the FAA that limit its safety oversight of UAS," the letter said, referring to drones as unmanned aircraft systems. "By providing the FAA with the full authority to regulate all UAS operations, the safety of passenger and cargo flights will be protected.”

An FAA-sponsored study released in November found that drones weighing just a few pounds could cause significant damage to airliner engines, windshields, or wings.

The exemption on FAA regulation of hobby drones was cited by a judge in May in a case overturning the agency’s ability to require owners to register their devices. Congress has since reinstated FAA’s drone registration, but hasn’t changed the broader hobbyist exemption.

A version of this article originally appeared on www.bloomberg.com.