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ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are preparing for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing temporary Federal Aviation Administration flight restrictions around the site.
The FBI has seized more than 600 drones across the country since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office, Marlo Graham, said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta.
Graham said the FBI uses a “mechanism” that allows agents to see unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.
“We have been able to safely land drones that were not authorized in the restricted flight area,” Graham said.
The FBI has seized more than 600 drones at World Cup events since the tournament began. (FBI Atlanta)
While the FBI treats each drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the size of the drone and how close it is to the stadium.
“Obviously, the closer to the venue, the bigger the crowd. We’re fortunate here in Atlanta to have a closed-dome stadium,” Graham said. “We don’t want the game to be affected because a fan can’t control his drone and it lands just as one of our star players was preparing to score a goal.”
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The Atlanta Police Department’s Drone Unit has helped the FBI locate people suspected of flying in restricted areas.
Sergeant. Kindu Franklin said most of the people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are fans with no intention of harming the crowds of soccer fans below.
“In some cases, they recently purchased a drone just so FIFA could get some of the interesting footage they wanted to post on their social media,” Franklin said. “There are different ways to weaponize these drones. That’s why we are operating proactively.”
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission at the World Cup focuses on surveillance. (FOX)
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission focuses on surveillance. Officers are looking for potential threats, traffic problems and people the FBI suspects of flying drones illegally.
“So what we want to do is give our command staff a vision that they can’t from the ground,” said Sergeant James Cunningham of the APD Drone Unit.
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Cunningham’s unit can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from strategically placed docking stations throughout the city, and officers control them from the back of a van using a computer and PlayStation controller.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from strategically located docks throughout the city. They are controlled by a computer and a PlayStation controller. (Pak Gazette)
Drone docks are used year-round to help police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all body cameras and police vehicles are located in the area, allowing him to better communicate with officers on the ground.
For the World Cup, drone docks allowed the department to have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster.
“It’s going to cut down on time. We’ll get there quickly. And then you’ll get an aerial perspective of what you can’t see on the ground,” Cunningham said.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from the docks to have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster. (Pak Gazette)
Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June.
“Some people haven’t even done it in years or haven’t even hit those numbers over the life of their drone unit,” Cunningham said.
“We trained for the environment. We live here, so we know what to expect,” said Anais Paredes, APD drone pilot.
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The FBI asks that amateur drone pilots know the temporary flight restrictions in their area before taking off.
There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days and a three-mile restriction on match day.
