Drone that paused Ravens game was part of TV broadcast

The Ravens’ “Thursday Night Football” game was briefly paused when officials spotted a drone near M&T Bank Stadium — a recurring safety problem for the National Football League. Only this drone was OK. It was part of the television broadcast.

During the first quarter of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 33-10 win over the depleted Ravens, there was a brief pause in the action, which Amazon Prime Video broadcasters Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit noted was due to a drone. The game quickly resumed.

“The game was briefly paused when a drone was observed operating near the stadium,” Vernon Conaway Jr., the Maryland Stadium Authority’s head of security, said in a statement to The Banner. “The drone was quickly identified as an authorized drone supporting the television broadcast and determined not to pose a security threat.”

The stadium authority owns M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, leasing them to Baltimore’s pro teams.

Drones are a relatively new security concern for large gatherings of people, such as concerts and sporting events. The tiny aircrafts could, in theory, be weaponized. But even a hobbyist’s drone could malfunction and plummet into a crowd.

A few times in recent years, Ravens home games have been paused after security spotted a drone flying near the stadium. That is against federal aviation rules. A Baltimore man pleaded guilty last year to violating national defense airspace after flying a drone over the stadium during a Ravens playoff game.

CBS News reported a drone was spotted at last year’s Army-Navy game at M&T Bank Stadium, and last week’s Thursday night game was also briefly delayed due to a drone.

In recent years, the NFL has lobbied Congress to allow local law enforcement at major sporting events to take measures to bring down unwelcome drones.