Insurers Could Drive Crashworthy Design Of Small UAS

(Source: m.aviationweek.com)  

Education, regulation and enforcement are key to safely integrating unmanned aircraft into civil airspace. But they cannot entirely eliminate the risk of someone unknowingly—or intentionally—sending a UAS aloft to collide with a manned aircraft or rotorcraft, particularly with the explosion in consumer drones flown by people with no prior connection to aviation.

This is why part of the integration equation must be determining the impact risk posed by unmanned aircraft and deciding how they can be designed to mitigate that risk—and, if necessary, how manned aircraft might have to be redesigned to survive an impact.

The first line of defense—or second after understanding and following the rules of the air—is intended eventually to be a sense-and-avoid system aboard the unmanned aircraft. But this will have limited capability in an air vehicle weighing only a few pounds. Normally these would be flying at altitudes well below manned aircraft, but could cross paths with agricultural aircraft spraying crops or helicopters responding to medical emergencies. Even aircraft on approach or climb-out could be at risk if an inattentive or ignorant operator allows a UAS to stray into off-limits airspace around an airport.

The FAA’s proposed rule for small unmanned aircraft systems, released for comment on Feb. 15, does not require airworthiness certification of vehicles weighing up to 55 lb. Instead, it places strict limits on their operation: daylight only, under 500 ft., within visual line of sight of the operator, with access to controlled airspace requiring permission from air traffic control. The FAA is also seeking comment on whether it should, like Canada, establish a special category for “micro-UAS” up to 4.4 lb., with relaxed rules but tighter operating restrictions including a 400-ft. altitude limit.

Continue Reading at m.aviationweek.com…