Recreational drone flight in Harford County follows FAA rules under 49 U.S.C. 44809: register drones over 250 grams, pass the TRUST test, stay below 400 feet, and keep visual line of sight. Maryland law preempts every county and city drone rule under Economic Development 14-301.
Neither Harford County nor Bel Air, Aberdeen, or Havre de Grace may regulate drones. Maryland Economic Development Section 14-301 reserves all drone authority to the State, so any local ordinance restricting flight is void. Above that, the FAA governs the airspace under 49 U.S.C. 44809: fly for fun without a Part 107 certificate only if you register any drone over 250 grams, pass the free TRUST test, keep the aircraft in visual line of sight, stay below 400 feet, and never interfere with crewed aircraft. Much of central Harford sits under the restricted airspace around Aberdeen Proving Ground and near Harford County Airport at Churchville, where flight is prohibited or needs LAANC authorization.
The FAA enforces flight rules with civil penalties reaching thousands of dollars for unregistered or unsafe flight, and flying over Aberdeen Proving Ground can trigger federal security action.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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