Student charged in drone crash at UK stadium

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky police have charged 24-year-old law student Peyton Wilson with wanton endangerment second degree for crashing a drone – an unmanned miniature helicopter – into Commonwealth Stadium just before kickoff of the school's football season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

Wilson, who is from Louisville, crashed his drone into the glass on the new suite level on the stadium's south side. Several fans stood just below the crash site, but no one was injured. The scarier moment came just before the aircraft zipped inside the stadium's lower bowl.

As four military parachutists delivered the game ball and American flags to the field as part of pregame festivities, the drone hovered just outside the stadium – near the skydivers' entry point. One told UK police he had to take "emergency evasive maneuvers to avoid contact with the drone that was at one point within 20 feet of his parachute."

One of the parachutists seemed out of control approaching the field and landed hard but was uninjured. UK police say they've received several videos and pictures from the public documenting the location of the drone and its crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits operating unmanned aircraft at or below 3,000 feet of altitude within three nautical miles of any stadium with a seating capacity 30,000-plus from an hour before the start of an event there until an hour after it concludes. Additionally, UK, which has forwarded its findings to the FAA for further review and possibly additional penalties, prohibits the use of drones at any time on campus.

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Email him at ktucker@courier-journal.com