DOT Announces Drone Registration Initiative
DOT website screenshot.
Today, Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the agency will oversee an initiative that will require all unmanned aircraft to be federally registered.
To accomplish this, the DOT has created a task force to help determine what information the agency will gather for registration and exactly how the process will work. AUVSI will serve on that task force along with the Academy of Model Aeronautics, the Air Line Pilots Association, the American Association of Airport Executives and the Helicopter Association International. Companies PrecisionHawk and AirMap were also named in the announcement.
Foxx said the task force must give the DOT its requirements by Nov. 20, and registration rules will be in place by December. There is a good reason for the rush, according to Foxx. He anticipates about 1 million drones will be sold during the holiday season.
He said registration of the systems will help with the enforcement of rule breakers operating the platforms in an unsafe manner.
“If unmanned aircraft operators break the rules, clearly there should be consequences,” he said.
To date, the Federal Aviation Administration and the DOT have not had issues identifying illegal aircraft, but have had issues determining responsibility for those flights. As for the platforms that have already been purchased, it will be up to the task force to determine how UAS must be retroactively registered.
Foxx said the initiative underscores the need for both commercial and hobby UAS users to operate safely. He touted Know Before You Fly, an educational campaign spearheaded by AUVSI and the AMA, with the support of the FAA, as a successful measure. AMA already instructs its members to put their AMA number on or within their aircraft to increase operator accountability.
There is precedence in the FAA’s proposed small UAS rule to require commercial unmanned aircraft registration, according to AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne.
“Extending this requirement to other UAS users will help promote responsibility and safety,” he said at the press conference.
However, in the currently active FAA authorization bill, Congress said the FAA is not permitted to regulate hobbyist activity. Foxx said that is still the case with this initiative, since it will not require a license to operate, “but when it comes to registration, this is a safety authority the FAA has, and it’s one we’re exercising.”
