Before flying over private property that is not the client's, the remote pilot should:

Two separate bodies of law meet over private property. The FAA regulates the navigable airspace and the operation of aircraft in it, and nothing in Part 107 requires landowner permission to overfly a parcel. But privacy, trespass, harassment and nuisance are matters of state and local law, and many states have enacted statutes addressing unmanned aircraft over private property, surveillance of persons, and operations near critical infrastructure. A pilot who reasons purely from federal preemption will be technically correct about the airspace and still exposed to a civil claim or a state charge. The practical approach in commercial work is to identify whose property will be overflown, seek permission where it is reasonably obtainable, know the applicable state law, and document what was agreed. Client relationships and the operator's reputation depend on it as much as the legal position does.

Federal regulation of the airspace does not displace state and local law on privacy, trespass and nuisance, so landowner permission and applicable state statutes should be considered.

The FAA regulates navigable airspace and aircraft operations. Privacy, trespass, nuisance and harassment are governed by state and local law, and many states have enacted statutes specific to unmanned aircraft.

Two Bodies of Law. The FAA owns the airspace; the state owns privacy and trespass.

Options invoking FAA approval for overflight of private land are always wrong — that is not something the agency issues.

• •Relying on federal preemption to dismiss state law
• •Expecting the FAA to authorize overflight of private property
• •Assuming altitude resolves a privacy or trespass concern