Congress Ponders Commercial Drone Use
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform considered the state of the commercial UAS industry at a hearing today, with members saying they need to balance support for a growing economic force with safety and privacy concerns.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on transportation and public assets, grilled the Federal Aviation Administration Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker on the agency’s progress with UAS regulations.
When asked if the FAA would meet the congressionally mandated deadline of Sept. 30, 2015, for UAS integration, Whitaker said no.
He said the FAA is “taking the issue in manageable bites, if you will,” including by speeding up its granting of Section 333 exemptions, which have reached an approval rate of 50 per week.
“But that’s not what we intended,” Mica said, and then pressed him on when the small rule would be finalized.
“The rule will be in place within a year,” Whitaker said.
“We’re going to be doing an FAA bill, guys and gals, and we should hold their feet to the fire again,” Mica said.
AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne testified before the panel and recommended several significant changes to that pending legislation and FAA practices.
He said the nation should develop a comprehensive UAS research and development plan that would, at a minimum, coordinate the work of the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, the six UAS test sites, the newly created UAS Center of Excellence, and NASA’s Ames and Armstrong Research Centers.
The test sites should be eligible for federal funding under current FAA offices and programs that conduct UAS operations, Wynne said.
“This would not specifically add new funding for the test sites,” Wynne said. “Rather, it could allow them to receive existing federal funding and give industry guidance and incentive to better utilize the test sites.”
AUVSI also supports the creation of an operational UAS traffic management system, which NASA is spearheading.
The upcoming FAA reauthorization bill should be based around a “risk-based, technology-neutral” approach, where regulations would be based on the actual risk of an operation, Wynne said. For instance, UAS that weigh less than 4.4 pounds “would be granted access to the airspace with minimal regulatory barriers.”
The FAA should also expand the use of Section 333 exemptions in the short term to allow requests for beyond-line-of-sight operations, which “are crucial to many commercial uses of UAS,” Wynne said.
Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy, said his company’s planned Prime Air drone delivery service will use vehicles that weigh 55 pounds or less, fly under 500 feet but above 200 feet, and would fly beyond the line of sight of the operators.
“Not only do we think our customers will love this service, we believe it will benefit society more broadly,” Misener said. “Once operational, Prime Air will increase the overall safety and efficiency of the current ground transportation system, by allowing people to skip the quick trip to the store or by reducing package deliveries by truck or car.”
Misener praised the work the FAA has been doing lately, but warned that the proposed small UAS rule, if adopted as drafted, “would not establish a regulatory framework to permit Prime Air operations in the United States.”
Under questioning from Mica, he said, “U.S. planning is not as aggressive, Mr. Chairman, as it is in other countries.”
Misener is part of a working group on beyond-visual-line-of-sight use, but said it has only met twice since it was started and not at all so far this year.
He said the U.S. should immediately begin to plan and develop rules for small UAS operations, which would include highly automated flight beyond line of sight. One operator should also be able to oversee simultaneous UAS flights, and categorical prohibitions — such as no nighttime flights — should be avoided.
“The serious planning for those future rules needs to be taken right now,” Misener said. He said Amazon doesn’t have all the technology it needs for Prime Air functioning today, “but we will have it in place by the time any regulations are ready.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who chairs the committee, cited the many potential commercial uses for drones but also pointed out the privacy concerns held by some members of the public.
“But I’d like to think we can get this right,” he said. “In fact, we must get this right.”
To read AUVSI's written testimony, click here.
To read AUVSI's press release about the hearing, click here.
