Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
The US Federal Aviation Administration has released its proposed regulations for commercial drone use, and while there’s good news for many businesses, there’s bad news for companies like Amazon that hoped to use unmanned aircraft as delivery couriers.
According to Engadget, the FAA will not require a pilot’s license for those planning to fly drones under 55 pounds. Instead, they will simply have to take an “aeronautical knowledge” test every two years to prove they know airspace rules.
However, drone-based delivery services like Amazon’s PrimeAir would be impossible under the regulations, because drone operators must keep their vehicles in their line of sight at all times. In addition, they must fly only in daylight, stay under 500 feet, and travel no faster than 100mph.
Furthermore, drone pilots will have to be at least 17 years old to use the unmanned aircraft, TechCrunch explained. A second operator can be used as an observer to fulfill the line-of-sight requirement, and flights over people are strictly prohibited under the guidelines, the website added.
Micro-unmanned aircraft, though
The FAA is also considering establishing a more flexible set of regulations to govern what they call micro-unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) weighing less than 4.4 pounds. The agency said it is asking for the public to comment on this part of the proposal to see if it should be added to the final rules, and is accepting comment on all parts of the guidelines over the next 60 days.
“We have tried to be flexible in writing these rules,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Sunday in a statement. “We want to maintain today’s outstanding level of aviation safety without placing an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry.”
“Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace and this milestone allows federal regulations and the use of our national airspace to evolve to safely accommodate innovation,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx added.
Regulations could come take a year or two to adopt–or the same amount of time it’ll take for drones to replace members of Congress
In a statement emailed to TechCrunch following the announcement, Amazon vice president of Global Public Policy Paul Misener said that the proposed regulations “could take one or two years to be adopted and, based on the proposal, even then those rules wouldn’t allow Prime Air to operate in the United States. The FAA needs to begin and expeditiously complete the formal process to address the needs of our business, and ultimately our customers.”
Misener added that the company is “committed to realizing our vision for Prime Air and are prepared to deploy where we have the regulatory support we need,” suggesting that the online retailer would be looking to launch their drone-based delivery service outside the US.
As Gizmodo explains, the FAA first said back in June that it was against companies using drones to deliver packages, and its proposed rules reflect that position. However, it is open for comment on the topic, stating that the agency would welcome comments on “whether the rules should permit operations beyond line of sight, and if so, what the appropriate limits should be.”
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