Commentary
The rapid growth of the UAS industry has been a regulatory challenge for the FAA. Of all the trends and developments of the past year the response of this agency to the developing drone market is one of the most important. We hope that the FAA will listen, learn and resolve to lose their ham-fisted approach to UAS regulations in 2016 by:
- continuing to review and revise regulations for both consumer and commercial use in a manner that ensures public safety without unnecessarily strangling a market and putting onerous restrictions on the consumer. Be reasonable, e.g. a 30-mile no fly zone around Ronald Reagan airport is not reasonable.
- establishing appropriate enforcement. How is it a small business specializing in aerial photography can be fined $1.9 million without having caused any demonstrable risk while a drone pilot that clearly violated regulations and who almost caused a helicopter to crash gets off with no penalty?
- clearly communicating the rules and regs that guide drone use and putting them in one place.
- using appropriate language. “Make no mistake: unmanned aircraft enthusiast are aviators, and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in announcing the recent drone registration system. We disagree. Surfers are not ship captains, bicyclists are not drivers, and drone operators are not aviators. This is a new industry with new and complex challenges that requires a new approach that should apply precedent where appropriate, but also adapts to the significant differences that make this industry unique.
- Improving transparency. It is in the public interest to receive a) an ongoing tally of the number of registrations by location (and not by name) and b) an ongoing tally of violations by location and defining the violation.
- Continuing to engage the industry, as well as state and municipal governments, in the review and revision of regulations.
Frank Schroth can be reached at frank@dronelife.com.
Frank Schroth is editor in chief of DroneLife, the authoritative source for news and analysis on the drone industry: it’s people, products, trends, and events.
Email Frank
TWITTER:@fschroth
FAA Resolutions We Hope for in 2016
Commentary
The rapid growth of the UAS industry has been a regulatory challenge for the FAA. Of all the trends and developments of the past year the response of this agency to the developing drone market is one of the most important. We hope that the FAA will listen, learn and resolve to lose their ham-fisted approach to UAS regulations in 2016 by:
Frank Schroth can be reached at frank@dronelife.com.
Frank Schroth is editor in chief of DroneLife, the authoritative source for news and analysis on the drone industry: it’s people, products, trends, and events.
Email Frank
TWITTER:@fschroth
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