Who Owns the Sky?

The Federal Aviation Administration’s 2016 release of 14 CFR parts 107 and 101 has led to substantial growth in the UAS industry. While the regulations provide stringent requirements for airspace, altitude, and other operational restrictions, they fail to address several key issues associated with property rights. The authors use a blend of doctrinal research, reform-oriented research, and theoretical research methods to assess the convergence of common law concepts, statute law, binding administrative regulations and existing case law. The purpose of this paper is to formulate a doctrinal foundation to delineate the boundary between navigable airspace and vertical real property rights.