It’s been a long time coming, but over the weekend the FAA released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the operation and certification of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) weighing less than 55 pounds.
The NPRM suggests that people flying drones would be referred to as “operators” and not pilots. These operators would have to be 17 years of age or older, pass a knowledge exam and obtain an FAA UAS operator certificate. The operator would have to determine that the UAS is fit for flight prior to launching. However, at this stage, neither aircraft certification nor a pilot certificate or medical certificate would be required.
The suggested rules would require operators to remain within line of sight of the UAS and would prevent them from dropping items from the drone, rules that would render UAS deliveries impossible. Not everybody is happy about this, for obvious reasons.
“That means we really are not talking about unmanned aerial vehicles,” said Michael E. Drobac, executive director of the Small UAV Coalition. “We are talking about something that has to have a person. It defeats the whole purpose.”
However, the FAA has not completely turned a blind eye on the possibility. As part of the NPRM the FAA is asking for comments on whether flights beyond line of sight should be allowable and, if so, at what distance. “We have tried to be flexible in writing these rules,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We want to maintain today’s outstanding level of aviation safety without placing an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry.”
In addition to the line of sight requirement currently written into the proposed rules, drone operators would also be required to see and avoid other aircraft. In most cases, avoiding other traffic shouldn’t be too difficult to do considering other proposed rules. Drones would be restricted at or below 500 feet and below 100 mph. Manned aircraft are generally required to stay at least 500 feet above people and structures — 1,000 feet in congested areas.
Flights within airport flight paths, restricted airspace and areas with temporary flight restrictions would also be prohibited. So unless the drone operator is flying the UAS around crop dusting activities or other extremely low flying flight operations, it shouldn’t be too difficult to avoid other aircraft.
The proposed rule suggests the possibility that UAS under 4.4 pounds would have less restrictive regulations.
The FAA is now asking for public comment on the proposed rules. While the NPRM has been made public it has not been officially published in the federal register. Once that happens, the public comment period will be open for an additional 60 days. Comments can be made online or via mail and should refer to docket number FAA-2015-0150.
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