The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a fine of $1.9 million—the largest civil penalty ever against a drone company—to punish an aerial photography firm that took pictures above Chicago and New York.

According to the FAA’s allegations, SkyPan International flew 65 "unauthorized operations" between March 2012 and December 2014. Of those, approximately two-thirds were in the New York Class B airspace, the highly congested areas over the city.

"Flying unmanned aircraft in violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations is illegal and can be dangerous," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a Tuesday statement. "We have the safest airspace in the world, and everyone who uses it must understand and observe our comprehensive set of rules and regulations."

In 2013, the FAA asked a court to enforce a subpoena against SkyPan; the agency wanted SkyPan to provide records for some of its New York City flights. The following year, in a court filing, SkyPan described itself as having "one full-time employee." This legal action was eventually dismissed in March 2015 after SkyPan complied.

It appears that the new proposed penalty stemmed from the documents received as a result.

Karl Brewick, a SkyPan production coordinator, told Ars that the company was declining comment. "We haven’t had a chance to look at the civil case against us," he said.

If the parties don't agree, because of the large size of the proposed penalty, the next step would require the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit in federal court, which could result in a trial and further appeals.