How High Can a Drone Fly?

While we might enjoy the thrill of flying, it’s a nightmare for air traffic controllers and pilots flying manned aircraft.

Consumer drones present a real threat to manned flights so authorities have set limits on how high a drone can fly. So, how high can a drone fly?

In the US and most countries, you can fly your drone up to 400 feet from ground level. This limit is defined in 14 CFR Part 107 and is called Rule 107.

In this blog post, we will be looking at this drone altitude limit in more detail, how it is enforced, and the reasons behind it. Let’s start.

Drone altitude limit

With so many unmanned aircraft flying in the sky, airspace was becoming too dangerous for manned flights.

Any collision between a manned flight and a drone can result in a human catastrophe. The FAA had to put an altitude limit on commercial and recreational drones.

A study by Bard College Center for the Study of the Drone reported 327 closed encounters between an unmanned drone and a commercial aircraft between December 2013 and September 2015.

In one incident (see video below), a drone flew very near to a helicopter, which could have resulted in an unfortunate incident.

Incidents like these prompted the FAA to enact new stricter rules and enforce the existing ones. One of these rules is the famous “400 feet altitude limit” rule, which we will discuss and understand here.

Rule 107 (14 CFR Part 107)

If you have owned and operated a drone or any other unmanned aircraft inside the USA, you might have heard of FAA Rule 107, which discusses explicitly how pilots should operate Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

This rule ensures it does not endanger the US airspace for other manned flights. Legal language can often be hard to understand for common folks like you and me, so let’s first see what the rule says and how we can interpret it to ensure we comply.

Rule 107 gives numerous guidelines about the safe operation of a drone, but sub-part 51(b) of the regulation goes explicitly over the altitude limitation of the drone. It states that;

The altitude of the small unmanned aircraft cannot be higher than 400 feet above ground level, unless the small unmanned aircraft:

(1) Is flown within a 400-foot radius of a structure; and

(2) Does not fly higher than 400 feet above the structure’s immediate uppermost limit.

Exception for the 400 feet altitude limit

The rule prohibits the drone operator from flying a drone above 400 feet measured from ground level.

There is an exception to the rule too. You can go 400 feet above ground level if you are within 400 feet of a tall structure like a building, phone tower, etc.

In that case, your maximum allowed altitude will be 400 feet above the structure’s top.

What happens if you fly a drone over 400 ft?

You must be thinking, why is the limit 400 feet and not some other random altitude? What happens if you fly a drone above 400 feet?

The answer is simple.

All manned aircraft are bound to stay above 500 feet from the ground except in controlled airspace near airports. The FAA left a 100 feet buffer zone to eliminate any “near miss” incidents and fixed 400 feet altitude as the red line above which you cannot fly your drone.

Statistics also show that most drone incidents take place above 500 feet. So the 400 feet limit and a 100 feet buffer zone make flying safer for both manned aircraft and drones.

Controlled vs. Uncontrolled airspace

It is essential to understand that the limits imposed by Rule 107  are only applicable in uncontrolled airspace. So what is controlled & uncontrolled airspace?

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Controlled Airspace

Controlled airspace is the area within 5 miles of the immediate vicinity of an airport. Any flying activity by unauthorized civilian personnel is restricted within this area.

I have used the word “restricted” here because it is not entirely banned. You can still fly your drone in the area after getting your LAANC authorization from the FAA.

LAANC (Low Altitude Authorisation & Notification Capability) is an automated permitting process that users can apply for from their phone App and get authorization in real time.

The process is entirely automated, and before approval is granted, multiple data points are checked to ensure the area is safe for unmanned flight operations.

Once the authorization is received via the App, you don’t need to inform the air traffic controller unless explicitly requested. Just follow the flight plan you submitted and enjoy.

One important thing to note here is that the exceptions for the 400 feet rule in the vicinity of tall structures no longer apply in a controlled area.

Even if you are near a tall structure, you still have to keep your drone below the 400 feet limits measured from above the ground level. The LAANC authorization will state the following;

Altitude limits are absolute values above ground level which shall not be added to the height of any structures. 

Uncontrolled Airspace

Uncontrolled airspace is any area outside of the 5-mile controlled area around the airports.

When flying in an uncontrolled area, you must abide by Rule 107 limits on altitude, speed, line of sight, and other aspects of safe drone operation.

From where the 400 feet altitude measured?

This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Rule 107. From where should you measure the 400 feet altitude limit?

The official statement might seem pretty clear that the reference point is the ground level.

The altitude of the small unmanned aircraft cannot be higher than 400 feet above ground level.

But there are some circumstances where this can get tricky. For example, you are standing on a hilltop that is located 90 feet above normal ground level.

Should your allowed altitude now be adjusted to 310 feet (since your take-off point is already 90 feet above the ground), or are you still allowed to go 400 feet above your take-off point?

I searched the FAA rules & guidelines, and crawled different communities but couldn’t get a clear explanation for this.

But here is my understanding.

Your reference point for the 400 feet should be the take-off point since aircraft constantly adjust their altitude in the presence of an obstacle like a hilltop.

Since planes are not allowed to fly below 500 feet measured from the nearest surface (ground or any other structure), the airspace above you is safe up to 400 feet from where you take off.

But remember the rule of exception in 107 about remaining within 400 feet of the structure.

If you are on a hilltop and going 400 feet above the hilltop (your take-off point), remember you have to remain within 400 feet from ALL directions so you can’t maintain the 400 feet altitude from the hilltop and wander off in one direction making the airspace safe.

The aircraft might adjust their height only near the hilltop, but they might still fly at lower altitudes away from the hill, making the chances of collision real.

Rule of thumb: Fly below 400 feet of ground level, and always use your best judgment in case of ambiguity. Don’t take a risk that can endanger other humans.

How high is 400 feet?

Most high-end drones have altitude meters and display the drone altitude on your smartphone or controller screen. But if you are wondering how high 400 feet is, the below infographic should give you a rough idea.

How high can a drone fly ‘technically’?

If you are somewhat new to the world of drones or have never flown one before, you must wonder how high a drone can technically fly.

Technically speaking, most high-end drones can fly up to 10,000 feet altitude easily. Above that, the air pressure reduces sufficiently for the propellers to create enough thrust to gain further altitude.

Most notable drone manufacturers like DJI have programmed their drones to always remain below the 400 feet limit from the point of take-off. This provides an additional security feature in case you cross the red line unknowingly.

But remember that this is not foolproof. The software measures the altitude from the take-off point, so if you are standing on a structure or your favorite hilltop, that will be point zero for the drone, and it can still cross the maximum allowed limit.

Most modern consumer drones are capable of climbing to great fights. For example, the DJI Mavic 3 has gone above Mt. Everest. Similarly, medium-category drones like the DJI Mini 3 can also go to 5000 meters.

Most modern drones also have other safety limitations programmed into them. One of my favorites is the DJI 2015 firmware update, which prevents its drones from flying over the Washington DC metropolitan area.

This came after a rookie pilot crashed its Phantom 2 in the Whitehouse premises damaging some tree branches and probably scaring off some Secret Service agents.

Altitude waiver for professional drone pilots

Since hobbyists do not only use drones for fun flying and aerial photography, they have found applications in many professional fields.

One of them is the inspection of tall structures. FAA has commercial drone license programs and special activity waivers for commercial pilots.

For example, if a skyscraper is being built, a drone can easily inspect the work at high altitudes instead of sending workers up there for in-person inspection (less costly and much safer).

Now, in uncontrolled areas, areas that are 5 miles outside of the airport, Rule 107 allows you to go an additional 400 feet above the tallest surface of the structure without any permit.

But if the skyscraper is being built inside a controlled area, you will have to apply for a special permit (this is different than LAANC we discussed above).

The FAA has stringent rules for issuing this special permit, and the entire process can take up to 3 months in some cases. You must notify the air traffic controller two days before the planned activity.

You can apply for this particular activity permit on the FAA DroneZone site.

If you are a hobbyist flyer like me, you are currently stuck with the 400 feet altitude limit inside the controlled area (after your LAANC authorization) and 400 feet general limit outside a controlled area (plus the tall structure exceptions).

Hobbyists cannot apply for the special activity waiver permit, which is only available for professional drone pilots.

Drone altitude limits in other countries

As we discussed that the 400 feet limit originates from how low manned aircraft can fly, we can expect the maximum allowed limits to be at or below 400 feet since aviation safety rules are almost the same internationally.

Some countries might further reduce the maximum allowed limit to be on the safer side.

If you are unsure about your local regulations, visit your local air traffic regulatory authority (the equivalent of FAA in the US), and you will find the maximum allowed limit. Make sure you are always in compliance with your local drone laws.

Penalty for flying drone over 400 feet

FAA started registering all drones above 0.55 pounds back in 2015. As of December 2019, FAA has registered more than 1.5 million drones.

Accordingly to 2018 FAA updated guidelines, every drone owner must mark the outside of the drone with the registration number and keep proof of registration with him/her at the time of flying.

But what happens if you take your drone above 400 feet? The short answer is: probably nothing.

FAA does not actively monitor uncontrolled airspace for drone law violations, and the responsibility to follow safe flying guidelines are up to us.

As hobbyist drone flyers, we should keep our flying machines below the red line so that we don’t cause an accident that can endanger human lives.

If you are involved in an incident with a manned aircraft while flying above the red line, you might get heavily fined or even jail time, depending upon the nature of the violation.

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Drone height limit – Conslusion

Let’s recap all the things that we discussed here with the purpose of easy recalling;

1. If you are within 5 miles of an airport, you can not fly without LAANC authorization. You cannot go above 400 feet above ground level even if you have authorization. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. If you are outside of the 5-mile radius of an airport, you can fly up to 400 feet above ground level. If you are within 400 feet of a tall structure, you can go 400 feet above the highest point of the structure.
3. Most modern drones come with pre-programmed altitude limits but use that with caution. Make sure the reference point is correctly configured before take off.

Now that you are done with reading the latest FAA regulations, here is a quick video guide from Ken that goes over the rules once more if you are still scratching your head.

Related read: How to disable a drone on your property?

Disclaimer: Information provided in this article is only for educational purposes and should not be taken as legal advice. Please visit the official website of your local air traffic control authority to verify and keep up to date with the latest information.