FOSSANA – The owner of a small drone which crashed on a motorway in Cuneo province last week has been identified while trying to find it by parking in the hard shoulder of the motorway, according to police sources. The male pilot, 28, explained that he lost control of the 250 gram drone while flying it from some nearby fields.

The drone landed on the 'Autostrada A6', a motorway which connects Turin to Savona in the north of Italy. No motorists travelling on the motorway at the time were affected by the crash, but the pilot will nevertheless be tried, reports La Stampa.

  It is illegal in Italy to fly a drone over a motorway unless you have special permits on top of a drone license and insurance, according to the regulations of the National Civil Aviation Authority. The unnamed pilot was in violation of these regulations, which also bans flying over railways and gas pipelines, according to Il Messaggero.

  The individual could be imprisoned for up to three months and fined several hundred euros, report La Stampa.

  After the multi-million euro hobbyist drone market exploded over the last ten years, the illegal flying of drones has started to present headaches for modern day regulators and law enforcement. In America, the Federal Aviation Administration has had to propose new rules for 2020 that require drone operators to be identified by remote ID, so as to monitor drone users whose drones weigh over 225 grams.

  Italy already has such an electronic identification system in place, after new rules were enacted in 2016 that means all drones that can transmit data in real-time must be equipped with an 'Electronic Identification Device'.

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