Philadelphia YouTuber faces $200,000 in penalties over drone usage

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Philadelphia YouTuber known for aerial videos is facing up to $200,000 in penalties after the federal government says he's been flying drones dangerously across the city.

South Philadelphia resident Michael DiCiurcio, whose YouTube channel PhillyDroneLife has thousands of views, is facing a civil complaint from the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

DiCiurcio, however, says his videos are not what they seem.

"They're videos that are edited, and as everybody knows, anything can happen in an edited video. So some of it's real, some of it's not, some of it is just for entertainment purposes," he said.

DiCiurcio says he started flying drones as a way to get healthier and make people laugh.

"I needed to find another source of things to do other than eat. So I bought a drone to get myself out of the house and it worked," he said.

In a 15-page civil complaint, the federal government says that since 2019, DiCiurcio has broken several rules flying his drone.

This includes flying at night, in inclement weather, too close to buildings and people, and too close to the airport.

"You look into a person, and find out they have nothing, so let's throw the book at him, $182,000. Let's do it. It just doesn't make any sense," he said regarding the lawsuit.

He denies the accusation of dangerous flying, especially when it comes to flights the government says are too close to the airport.

"Hurting people with it and trying to get in the airspace, why would I do that? Why would I risk my life and people on a plane? It's just stupid," he said.

There are two types of people who can fly drones, those with commercial licenses -- like we have at 6abc to operate Drone 6 -- and people who do it as a hobby.

Those who fly drones recreationally fly without a license but take a safety test, as DiCiurcio did.

There are different rules for the two types of flyers, but there is one big overlap: staying safe while you fly.

"This couldn't hurt you, this couldn't kill you," said DiCirucio, who claims he's never broken any rules or flown dangerously.

Despite DiCirucio's pleas, the government disagrees.

"Now imagine you're on welfare, you have nothing, and you live in your mother's home, now what's going to happen to you? That's the part that everybody needs to understand. I have nothing," he said.