FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee Will Meet January 31

The FAA has announced that the second meeting of the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) will be held on January 31.

The DAC was formed last year and held it’s first meeting in September of 2016.  The committee plans to meet 3 times a year in order to help the FAA to prioritize drone integration steps.  The FAA established the DAC after the success of the Drone Registration Advisory Group, saying that collaboration with industry and stakeholders had allowed the agency to move forward more quickly.

The 34 member roster includes representatives from airports, pilots associations, air traffic control, research institutions, and the drone industry.

“The DAC’s main objective during its second meeting will be to review and potentially approve three task groups,” says the FAA statement. “The first task group will review issues related to the roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments in regulating and enforcing drone laws…The second task group will consider technological and regulatory mechanisms that would allow drone operators to gain access to the airspace beyond what the agency currently permits under the Small UAS Rule (commonly known as Part 107). The DAC will also discuss the formation of a third task group, which will consider ways to fund the expanded provision of services needed to support UAS integration.”

The September meeting introduced the committee to the FAA’s current status, challenges and objectives for drone integration.

The DAC meeting is free and open to the public. It will be held January 31, 2017 09:00 a.m.—04:00 p.m. PST at the University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557.  Members of the public who wish an opportunity to speak before the committee or require further information should contact Al Secen at [email protected] or 202–330– 0647, or The RTCA Secretariat, 1150 18th Street NW., Suite 910, Washington, DC, 20036, or by telephone at (202) 833– 9339, fax at (202) 833–9434, or Web site at http://www.rtca.org.