Congressman busted for hiring drone as wedding photographer

A New York congressman invited an interesting guest to his wedding: a drone.

Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney hired a photographer to use a small drone to capture video footage of his wedding, the Associated Press reports. Stephanie Formas, a spokesperson for Maloney, confirmed that he did use a drone at his June wedding, despite the fact that the FAA bans "drone flights for commercial purposes."

However, Parker Gyokeres, the photographer who operated the drone at Maloney's wedding, told the New York Daily News that "there are no laws that prohibit the use of multicopters for photography."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The FAA is currently fining commercial drone users across the country, voicing concern about the safety of drones. On Wednesday, the FAA issued a statement that it's investigating whether "a video of an upstate New York congressman's wedding" violated its ban on drones. Maloney may be a special case, though — he's a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee, which oversees the FAA.