To fly drone over parade, festival in Vermilion Parish, pilot has to inform Sheriff’s Office

Vermilion Parish Sheriff Eddie Langlinais wants to make one thing clear - law enforcement is not stopping you from flying your drone over large gatherings like festivals and parades. Law enforcement wants to be aware of who is operating the drone.
Starting this weekend with the Shrimp Festival in Delcambre, anyone who wants to fly a drone over the festival and surrounding areas must register with the Sheriff’s Office.
The reason for checking in with law enforcement is so they can be aware of who owns the drone in case it crashes and falls out of the sky, causing damage to property or individuals at the parade or the festival.
Expect this to be the norm at other festivals in Vermilion Parish.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be present at the Delcambre Shrimp Festival and will be working alongside the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office. The FAA will be performing ramp checks and will check the credentials of pilots who plan to fly over this event. Those pilots who comply with FAA Part 107 will not be denied flight at this event, as long as they are operating in coordination with the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“For those drone pilots who would like to operate over the crowds during the duration of this festival, again I stress to you to coordinate with the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office,” said the Sheriff. “Our goal is to ensure that your operation will not conflict with our flight plans, resulting in a potential collision or other public safety hazard for festival patrons. Public safety is the top priority at this and every event, and these measures are being taken in efforts to maintain the safety of all who attend.”
Recently, the Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agents created a security board whose mission is specifically to combat any threats that may come to the patrons of the Delcambre Shrimp Festival.
This joint law enforcement effort includes not only the Vermilion Parish Sheriff, but also Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero and Delcambre Police Chief Perry Shaw.
“The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office is not seeking a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) to permanently establish a no-fly zone to prohibit authorized flight during this or any other event completely,” said Sheriff Langlinais. “We are aware that there are entities that operate drones for business purposes, including those who offer photography and video services to our festivals.”
The Sheriff said the security team’s intent is to “To ensure public safety at this and future events, not only in Vermilion Parish, but those in our neighboring parishes where we are assisting with providing security and/or video security coverage as well.”