ok so this has been frustrating me for like two weeks now. i fly near a small lake about 20 minutes from my house, been going there for months no problem, and suddenly when i try to get authorization through the FAA DroneZone / LAANC thing on my app it just says denied or sometimes it wont even let me submit. theres no airport near this place, i checked on google maps and the closest one is like 14 miles away. i fly a mini 3 pro btw.

is there something else that could cause this besides airports? i feel like im missing something obvious but i dont know enough about airspace to figure out whats going on. the app just says class E or something and doesnt really explain why its a problem

class E airspace goes way lower than most people realize, thats probably whats catching you. airports have surface extensions that stretch out for miles in certain directions especially around the approach paths, and E airspace can start at like 700 feet AGL or even surface level in some areas. 14 miles is actually not that far depending on which direction you are relative to the runway. also check if theres a helipad or seaplane base nearby, those count too and they dont show up on google maps obviously.

best thing to do is pull up the FAA sectional chart for your area on skyvector or just use the B4UFLY app which is pretty straightforward about telling you whats actually causing the restriction. LAANC denials are automated so if youre in a grid square that sits at 0 feet authorization altitude youre just not getting it through the app no matter what, youd have to do a manual waiver through DroneZone which takes like 90 days so good luck with that

yeah same thing happened to me once and it turned out there was a tiny private airstrip like 8 miles away that i had no idea existed. you can look those up on the FAA's chart supplement or just open SkyVector and zoom in on your area, private strips show up there. kind of annoying that the apps dont just tell you exactly WHY youre getting denied instead of just saying no