Briefing: October 2015

The FAA raised concerns this summer over the escalation of pilot reports of drone encounters, with 650 reports in the first half of the year, nearly three times as many as in all of 2014. Encounters occurred at altitudes up to 10,000 feet and were reported by aircraft from helicopters to airliners. Conflicts with firefighters also were on the rise. In August, the Transportation Departments Office of Inspector General said it would launch an audit to scrutinize the FAAs procedures for allowing drone operations in the national airspace.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, September 09, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Pilot reports of drone encounters with aircraft are sharply increasing, leading to a federal audit, while the FAA faces broader scrutiny for operational inefficiencies and delays.
The NTSB reported a rise in general aviation fatal accidents in 2014 and attributed the SpaceShipTwo crash primarily to a cockpit design flaw enabling a single human error to be catastrophic.
A replica of the historic Bugatti 100P racing airplane completed its first, albeit damaging, flight, marking the design's inaugural takeoff.

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Airplane/Drone Conflicts On The Rise

The FAA raised concerns this summer over the escalation of pilot reports of drone encounters, with 650 reports in the first half of the year, nearly three times as many as in all of 2014. Encounters occurred at altitudes up to 10,000 feet and were reported by aircraft from helicopters to airliners. Conflicts with firefighters also were on the rise. In August, the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said it would launch an audit to scrutinize the FAA’s procedures for allowing drone operations in the national airspace.