German Man Banned from Yellowstone Because of Drone

DENVER (AP) — A German citizen who crashed a drone into a lake in Yellowstone National Park this summer has been banned from the park for a year and was ordered to pay $1,600 in fines and restitution.

Andreas Meissner of Koenigswinter, Germany, was charged with four federal misdemeanors after a drone he was using to shoot video of a charity bicycle ride through the park crashed into Lake Yellowstone on July 18. KUSA-TV reports Meissner appeared via telephone in a federal courtroom in the park Sept. 17 and pleaded guilty to violating the ban on drones, filming without a permit and leaving property unattended.

He also was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation. Divers recovered the drone 10 days after it crashed. The park service seized the equipment.