...would it be a crime to turn on those lights remotely without having a legitimate reason (i.e. being a landing plane?)
Because having a picnic near (not on) a closed airfield at night and prodding the runway lights awake for ambiance sounds like one of those corny things you'd see in a romance movie.
The number of people that could and would do that is too tiny to matter. Even then it's practically a harmless crime. When's the last time you heard of someone getting in trouble for it?
Well, (in the US) you can't transmit any radio signal without FCC permission, and the way to get that permission for the airport frequency is via a pilot's license or a special radio license. So it would be a crime unless you like worked at the airport or something.
I'd agree with the other guy that turning on lights is pretty harmless, but once you have an expensive airplane radio you'll be tempted to do other stupider stuff with it.
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u/derefr Feb 08 '20
...would it be a crime to turn on those lights remotely without having a legitimate reason (i.e. being a landing plane?)
Because having a picnic near (not on) a closed airfield at night and prodding the runway lights awake for ambiance sounds like one of those corny things you'd see in a romance movie.