UAS Industry Urges FAA To Finalize Drone Rules

The drone industry and other GA groups made another public push this week for the FAA to move ahead with commercial regulations for unmanned aerial systems. Wednesday was the date set by Congress in 2012 to complete the rulemaking process, but in recent months it has been apparent that the FAA wouldn’t be ready.

The drone industry and other GA groups made another public push this week for the FAA to move ahead with commercial regulations for unmanned aerial systems. Wednesday was the date set by Congress in 2012 to complete the rulemaking process, but in recent months it has been apparent that the FAA wouldn't be ready. Twenty-nine entities, led by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Academy for Model Aeronautics, sent a letter(PDF)to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to urge the agency to finalize rules and make progress in integrating drones into the National Airspace System."Once this happens, we will have an established framework for UAS operations that will do away with the case-by-case system of approvals, reducing the barriers to commercial UAS operations," the letter said. "And importantly, having more trained commercial operators will create a culture of safety that helps deter careless and reckless behavior."There's rising demand for FAA approval of individual commercial drone-use waivers, known as Section 333 exemptions, according to AUVSI.In the meantime, "states and municipalities are attempting to fill the current regulatory void, at times with laws that they may not have the authority to enforce," the letter said.

AUVSI's Tom McMahon told AVweb in an email on Friday the industry wants action "without any further delays." The FAA has received more than 3,000 requests for commercial-use exemptions since May 2014 and as of Thursday, granted 1,742, he said. The FAA said earlier this year that the proposed rules, which received about 4,500 comments, will need time to finalize with industry input on issues such as line-of-sight operations, airspace rules and use of technology to restrict drone travel. Meanwhile, it's working with industry on UAV operating parameters and earlier this year, launched the Pathfinder Program with three companies to study how drones would be used in industry. The program is working with CNN on visual line-of-sight operations, PrecisionHawk on crop inspection using extended line-of-sight flights, and BNSF Railroad on drone flights beyond-visual-line-of-sight to survey railroads in isolated areas."There is significant collaboration between the industry and the FAA," McMahon said. "The industry is investing millions in research, and the federal government has various research projects underway. The challenges we jointly face call for a national leadership initiative that places UAS integration into the NAS - and all relevant R&D - at the top of our country's priority list."