disrupted efforts to put out wildfires but for recreational drone pilots the rules now are clear no higher than 400 feet always within sight and nowhere near an airport nearly 700 close encounters with drones have been reported by pilots so far this year according to federal aviation administration statistics several close shaves since the start of august there have been at least 75 close calls including a dozen last sunday in every corner of the nation thats about triple the number for all of last year the washington post newspaper which first reported the faa figures said the consumer electronics association expects global sales of consumeroriented drones to approach 425000 units this year up 65 from 2014 as more people buy remote controlled drones we need to make sure they act responsibly richard blumenthal a member of the senate transportation committee that oversees the faa said in a report this past week lloyds of london cited negligent or reckless pilots as well as patchy regulation as key considerations for insurers as drones become increasingly commonplace worldwide unauthorized operators may be subject to stiff fines and criminal charges including possible jail time