FAA Sets Up No Fly Zone For Drones Above SoFi Stadium

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA) — The Federal Aviation Administration established a no-fly zone for drones on the day of the Super Bowl.

"It's normally not the intent of anyone to interfere with an aircraft," said FAA Drone Expert Kevin Morris. "But accidents happen and sometimes drones get away from people flying them."

Starting on Sunday, Feb. 13, at 10 a.m. drones will be barred from flying within one mile of SoFi Stadium. At 2:30 p.m., the zone will be extended to a radius of 30 miles around the arena, reaching areas such as Malibu, Chino Hills and Orange County. Violation of the flight restrictions can carry a punishment of a fine of up to $30,000, confiscation of the drone and possible criminal penalties.

"We have two arrival paths and one is just to the south of SoFi and one is north of it," said Morris."So SoFi is really bracketed by aircraft landing."

With more than 300 planes flying into LAX as low as 600 feet, officials grew concerned that drones may interfere with the aircraft coming in for a landing. The low flying airplanes is partially why SoFi Stadium was built into a pit 100 feet below the ground.

That's the real concern what happens when things go wrong or if you're flying around SoFi Stadium the margin of error is really low because there's just aircraft so low," said Morris.

The flight restrictions will be lifted at 8:30 p.m. on Feb.13.