An Oak Harbor man who runs an aerial media firm is facing a criminal charge in Seattle because his drone crashed and allegedly struck a woman during the Seattle Pride Parade in June.

Paul Skinner, 37, is facing a gross-misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.

Attorney Chris Skinner, Paul Skinner’s father, said he’s concerned about the amount of publicity the case has garnered in the Seattle media, but he believes the attention is largely because the incident involves a drone. The emerging technology is a hot topic as governments large and small are grappling with how to regulate the unmanned flying vehicles.

“Obviously, if this was about a model airplane it would not be newsworthy,” he wrote in an email to the Whidbey News-Times.

Regional news station KING-5 reported that Skinner’s two-pound drone hit a building before striking a woman on the head, causing her to momentarily “black out.”

Several media outlets reported that a Seattle prosecutor said the charge wasn’t filed because Paul Skinner was flying a drone, but that he would have been charged if the same thing occurred with a model airplane or helicopter.

Chris Skinner, however, notes that the drone technology is changing every day and is designed to be “very safe — much safer than a model airplane.”

The prosecution’s claim of reckless conduct will be “measured against a completely new and mostly unknown standard in this case,” he said.

He added that it’s very unfortunate that the woman was injured when the drone crashed.

“And of course that adds to the level of public concern being shown about this particular incident,” he wrote.