What was meant to be an electrifying NFL Wild Card showdown at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore turned into a legal nightmare for one drone pilot. A Maryland man, Alexis Perez Suarez, 43, is now facing federal felony charges after allegedly flying a drone over the packed stadium during the January 11, 2025, playoff game.
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Reminder to anyone tempted to capture a few aerial shots of rescue efforts around Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge: Don’t even think about it. The no-flight ban on UAVs announced in the hours after the tragedy is still firmly in place.
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Has Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium become a hub of illegal drone activity during the National Football League (NFL) Ravens’ home games? It’s starting to sound that way, with news that several more UAVs were active on November 16 than the craft that famously caused that day’s contest to be suspended.
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The time-tested parental observation advises that one learns more about a situation by heeding what people do rather than what they say. That may also be said of the recent decision by the Baltimore Police Department in establishing its new drone fleet using DJI drones – and in doing so broadly reflecting the frequent response of independent administrations to the largely politicized moves by Congress, US government agencies, and several state legislatures to blacklist the UAV giant’s craft from official use across the nation.
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Beware, whoever is buzzing Baltimore’s sport stadiums. Drone detection technology is installed at the ballparks, and there will be no more undetected intrusions.
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