SYDNEY (DPA) - Australia's aviation authority is investigating footage posted online of a man fishing while dangling from a drone, local media reported on Thursday (Aug 29).

The video has been seen by more than 300,000 people and shows a man in a seat hanging by rope from an armchair-sized drone several metres above a lake in the state of Victoria.

The flying fisherman then catches a fish on a line while casually sipping on a beer. He brings fish, beer and the chair back to land where he's greeted with cheers from friends.

Australia's national broadcaster ABC said the drone was made by Tim French, an electrician in the town of Sunbury.

The ABC said he has declined to comment after aviation authorities launched inquiries into his drone fishing antics.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said there appeared to be serious safety risks from what appeared on the video, but it was not clear what rules had been broken.

"This is a first for Australia, to have a large homemade drone being used to lift someone off the ground," Gibson told the ABC.

"It's really not a sensible thing to do in any way, shape or form; there's lots of things that could have gone wrong, someone could have been seriously injured."