What's that thing up there?

I know that this blog's title refers to "current affairs in the U K" but there are sometimes things which happen outside these islands which are sort of global in their ramifications and therefore fair game for comment I feel.  One such concerns an American homeowner who shot down a drone which was hovering over his back garden where his daughters were sunbathing.  He has been arrested and charged with the US equivalent of criminal damage.  Now let's ignore the question of American gun law, and also the possible voyeuristic aspects of the incident, and the question becomes - do you own the air over your house and therefore have a right to defend it?  With the proliferation of drones, this is going to become an important issue.  Well the common law position is that if you own a piece of land, you own everything above and below it "from heaven to hell" (ad coelum et ad inferos). Statute law has limited this basic right and in particular the Civil Aviation Act of 1982 limits your ownership of the air above your property to a "reasonable" height (generally considered to be around 500-1000 feet).  So if a drone comes low over your house, yes, it's probably trespassing - of course what you are allowed to do about it is a different matter, and in this country shooting it down is almost certainly a no-no!