PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Government regulators are trying to bring a high-flying South Philly YouTuber with a penchant for flouting federal law back down to earth. To date, he owes $200,000 in fines related to piloting a drone without a license. Authorities say he is ignoring the penalties and continuing to fly.
A complaint filed by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jacqueline Romero accuses Michael DiCiurcio of endangering lives and property by surpassing the altitude limit for drones and flying close to City Hall. She says videos showing DiCiurico crashing a drone into himself at 42 mph and piloting a drone above skyscrapers and down a smoke stack shows a disregard not only for others but also for FAA regulations.
He posts his drone flight videos on his YouTube channel, PhillyDroneLife.
According to the complaint, DiCiurcio operated several drones without a remote pilot certificate and ignored fines from the Federal Aviation Administration dating back to 2020. The government says he also piloted drones in poor weather and at night.
“There are limits to drone use,” says John Duesler, president of the Pennsylvania Drone Association.
“We can only fly up to 400 feet. Without any special permission, we can only fly within the line of sight. There is a time factor. … How long we can stay in the air."
David Heath, the association’s executive director, says at the center of all those rules is safety.
"That is why the regulatory sphere is the way that it is currently,” Heath said, “because a lot has to be worked out still about how do we integrate the airspace between both traditional aircraft and uncrewed aircraft."
DiCurcio was informed in 2020 that he had accrued $182,000 in fines, and he has not paid any of those penalties. And, the government says, he has continued to commit violation after violation, including hitting a bird while flying over a shopping center in 2022 and crashing a drone into a building on Broad Street in 2023.
DiCurcio could not be reached for comment.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 29.