DronesFAA would allow four private companies to operate drones in U.S. airspace
The Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) announced the other day that it would allow four private companies to operate drones in U.S. airspace. The drones will be used to survey land, inspect remote oil rigs, perform agricultural and environmental research, monitor construction projects, and collect geographical data. The FAA has banned most drone flights as they pose a risk to the safety of manned aircrafts, and in some cases to privacy. The drone industry says that if drones are integrated into U.S. civilian airspace, the domestic economic impact would surpass $82.1 billion between 2015 and 2025, while creating more than 100,000 high-paying jobs.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the other day that it would allow four private companies — Trimble Navigation, VDOS Global, Clayco Inc., and Woolpert Inc.— to operate dronesin U.S. airspace. The drones will be used to survey land, inspect remote oil rigs, perform agricultural and environmental research, monitor construction projects, and collect geographical data. In their requests to be exempt from the ban on private and commercial drone usage, the companies agreed only to fly drones weighing less than fifty-five pounds and to keep them in sight at all times.
The FAA has banned most drone flights as they pose a risk to the safety of manned aircrafts, and in some cases to privacy. Airline Pilots Association International, a pilot union, has warned the FAA that commercial use of drones in densely populated regions could be a risk to air travel. Privacy advocates are worried that private citizens could be targets of illegal surveillance.
Still, many individuals and companies continue to fly drones until they receive an order from law enforcement or regulators to cease drone operations.
TheGuardian reports that earlier this year, the FAA granted exemptions to six photography and film companies and two Alaskan oil projects, allowing them to operate drones. Still, the agency is facing enormous pressure from Congress and the public to issue a comprehensive ruling and guidelines on drone use. At least 167 companies, including the National Association of Realtors, have requested permission from the FAA to use drones.
In a letter this week from Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy to the FAA office responsible for drone integration, Misener urged the agency to design a more efficient way to approve requests for drone use. Amazon has petitioned the FAA to test drones for package delivery, but under current FAA rules, every drone that Amazon wants to test in U.S. airspace must be certified by the agency. The rule “is burdensome considering how fast we are designing new Prime Air vehicles,” Misener wrote.
The drone industry, including manufacturers, software makers, and distributors, say that the United States could lose its position as a leader in drone innovation if it fails to allow companies and individuals to operate and test new drone technologies and concepts. Congress has ordered the FAA to develop a regulatory framework for the testing and licensing of commercial drones by 2015. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) predicts that if the FAA meets its 2015 deadline for integrating drones into U.S. civilian airspace, the domestic economic impact would surpass $82.1 billion between 2015 and 2025, while creating more than 100,000 high-paying jobs.
