Mitchell Parsons Hughes, 46, of Decatur, is accused of operating a drone from the KFC at 2637 Cobb Parkway in Smyrna, to the northernmost location of Truist Park Stadium on July 15 at 8:14 p.m., according to an arrest warrant from the Cobb County Police Department.
Hughes admitted he was flying over the stadium’s restricted airspace and entering the designated flight paths of credentialed media drones. Hughes’ drone posed a collision risk with the media aircraft and the structural elements of the stadium, which could have resulted in a fall into the crowd below and caused a hazardous situation for event attendees. He said he wanted a picture of the event prior to the flyover. He was able to return the drone to the incident location using the return-to-home function, according to the warrant.
Hughes is charged with operating aircraft system near/above ticketed entertainment event; and reckless conduct. He was arrested on July 15 at 8:45 p.m. and booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to jail records…