To corral a surge in incidents of reckless, recreational drone use, the U.S. government barred
flights of small unmanned aircraft near airports and crowds.
People who want to fly drones as hobbyists should take
lessons on safe operation and keep the aircraft within their
line of sight, according to a Federal Aviation Administration
notice released today. The limits apply to recreational drones
weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms).
While the action doesn’t set rules for commercial drone
flights, it marks the first attempt to codify restrictions for a
burgeoning category of aircraft that the FAA has had difficulty
policing. It was important to clarify what type of drone use the
FAA considers dangerous, said Rebecca Byers MacPherson, the
agency’s former assistant chief counsel for regulations.
“That is a big first step in terms of drawing clear
jurisdictional lines for the use of the aircraft and the FAA’s
ability to regulate,” MacPherson, who is now a lawyer in
Washington at Jones Day LP, said in an interview.
The change is a result of “recent incidents involving the
reckless use of unmanned model aircraft near airports and
involving large crowds of people,” the agency said in a news
release. The FAA is seizing on language in a 2012 law regarding
hobbyists and unmanned aircraft.
The rules are set for publication in the U.S. Federal
Register and take effect immediately, according to the agency.
Flying Safely
As multiple-rotor copters and other drones have fallen in
price, their use has grown rapidly. Websites such as YouTube.com
contain scores of videos shot from drones flying over parks or
urban areas that would violate the FAA’s rules.
“We want people who fly model aircraft for recreation to
enjoy their hobby, but to enjoy it safely,” Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the news release.
Recreational drones should weigh less than 55 pounds and
shouldn’t be flown within five miles (8 kilometers) of an
airport without notifying air-traffic controllers, the FAA said.
The FAA also plans to work with local law enforcement
agencies and its own safety inspectors to better understand the
rules and enforce them, the agency said in the release.
“We have a mandate to protect the American people in the
air and on the ground, and the public expects us to carry out
that mission,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in the
release.
Model Academy
Unmanned aircraft larger than 55 pounds may be flown if
they are certified as safe by a modeling club, the FAA said in a
pamphlet on its new standards.
It also said model planes and helicopters should be flown
at areas set aside by such clubs. These flying sites typically
require members to have insurance and training.
The FAA’s standards closely follow those by the Academy of
Model Aeronautics, the largest group representing such hobbyists
in the U.S. The group’s safety code says pilots shouldn’t fly
unmanned aircraft over “unprotected people, vessels, vehicles
or structures.”
The agency’s first attempt at enforcing rules against a
drone operator was overturned March 6 by a judge who said the
agency didn’t have legal authority over small unmanned aircraft.
The FAA appealed the decision before the National Transportation
Safety Board, which decides appeals of its enforcement actions.
The case against Swiss citizen Raphael Pirker may not be
directly effected by the FAA’s latest rule. The agency charged
he was being paid, which means it wasn’t a hobby flight.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com
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