Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…
Today is day one of the FAA’s drone registration program outlined in Secretary Foxx’s announcement on December 14 that all unmanned aircraft operators are to be registered by February 19, 2016.
While nobody is arguing against registering personal UAVs (in fact, the community and industry support the idea) the FAA’s methods and process have proven to be full of points of contention.
So much so, that it calls into question the necessity of jumping online today to register your drone.
The truth is, the new registration process was rushed into existence by the FAA because the administration is in panic mode. Thousands of new drones will be in the air by next week and the FAA felt the need to do something to try and mitigate the risks that come with this influx of airspace traffic.
But the problem is, the FAA’s “register now, ask questions later” approach to the situation doesn’t work. They are not fighting this battle on home turf and it shows. Every publication and organization with any interest in drones had no trouble blowing holes in the FAA’s announcements.
… Or to take arms against a sea of troubles…
The Academy of Model Aeronautics and the Competitive Enterprise Institute are both in the process of challenging the legality of the FAA’s process – and they both have a legitimate case.
The AMA even went as far as telling its members to wait to register until the last possible day (February 19) because the AMA is going to try convince the FAA to make an exception for model aircraft and if that doesn’t work, the courts might do it for them.
Motherboard’s Jason Koebler astutely asked “Is the FAA really going to fine a teenager $27,500 or put him in jail if he didn’t know he was supposed to register his drone?”
Forbes’ John Goglia has called into question the morality of allowing registrant’s information to be publicly available and his experience getting the facts shows the process of gathering information was not thought through by the FAA.
DroneLife has already received tips that there are imitators out there, with no connection to the FAA, promising to get your drone registered. Federaldroneregistration.com, for example, will happily take your money, but is a privately owned URL and is in no way responsible for getting you registered.
The Washington Post, San Diego Tribune, Gizmodo, NBC News, and Politico, among many, many other jumped on the FAA for both the flimsy plan and for ignoring the recommendations made by the Drone Registration Task Force which the FAA itself created.
Even if the FAA can navigate all these pitfalls, Can the FAA actually pull registration off? How are they going to get all these people who get a drone for Christmas, that may have no idea registering their drone is a requirement, to follow the protocols.
… And by opposing end them.
Most importantly, though, how is the FAA going to enforce it all?
A person can only be subject to fines and/or jail time if the police end up with the drone and the drone is registered.
It’s amazing really – a week ago, a falling drone induced injury would have strengthened the FAA’s case because everyone and their mother would have been ready to let the FAA do whatever they want.
“Just protect us from the drones!”
But now, when the crash happens, everyone will be at the FAA’s throats for implementing a rule that doesn’t work.
Look, I get it. The FAA is responsible for the safety of the national airspace. But they’re not the only ones with responsibility. Operators have a responsibility to know how their machines work and to operate them appropriately, just like cars.
Most importantly (and least discussed), however, is the responsibility that lies on the shoulders of drone manufacturers.
Safe drone operation is going to matriculate from DJI, 3DR, Parrot, and the next major player in the space because technological safety measures and flight restrictions can and should be programmed right into the drones themselves.
From the beginning, the FAA has fundamentally misunderstood that drones are flying computers not airplanes. As such, the regulations need to be focused on the providers of the technology before they are set for the users
The FAA’s registration website can be accessed right here.
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com