The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a new directive prohibiting unauthorised drones to fly over ten Department of the Interior (DOI) sites, including the Statue of Liberty in New York.

The new directive has been issued under the agency’s existing Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) § 99.7 – ‘Special Security Instructions’ following requests from the US national security and law enforcement agencies.

It is first of its kind to be issued by FAA regarding DOI landmarks.

The new rule will prohibit unauthorised drones to fly up to 400ft within the lateral boundaries of the selected landmarks, which include Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota, and Boston National Historical Park (USS Constitution), Boston, Massachusetts.

Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Folsom Dam in California; Glen Canyon Dam in Lake Powell, Arizona; Grand Coulee Dam in Washington, Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nevada; Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri; and Shasta Dam in Shasta Lake, California, have also been included in the restricted zone list.

"The new rule will prohibit unauthorised drones to fly up to 400ft within the lateral boundaries of the selected landmarks."

The restrictions are set to come into force from 5 October 2017 and are expected to include only a few exceptions to permit drone flights within these areas, which will require proper coordination with the individual facility and / or FAA.

The agency has created an interactive map online in order to make the public aware of the new FAA regulation.

Links to the restrictions have also been added to FAA’s B4UFLY mobile app, which is scheduled to be updated within 60 days to reflect the new airspace restrictions.

Violators of the new restriction could face enforcement action, including potential civil penalties and criminal charges.

In addition, FAA is considering requests from other federal agencies to limit drone flights under its § 99.7 code.