To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes.

Drone Operator Safety Act of 2017

This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly or recklessly operate an unmanned aircraft that interferes with or disrupts an aircraft or airborne vehicle carrying at least one occupant in U.S. airspace.

It imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term, or both—on a violator.

The prohibition includes the unauthorized operation of an unmanned aircraft within an airport's runway exclusion zone (i.e., defined area of controlled airspace around an active runway) unless the operation is the result of an unforeseeable circumstance (e.g., a malfunction).