Earlier this month, a small commercial airplane collided with an unmanned aircraft system (“UAS” or drone) during its final descent into Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City, Canada. After numerous near-misses, this was the first confirmed collision between a drone and a commercial aircraft in North America. The incident has renewed UAS safety and enforcement concerns, but also highlights opportunities and tools necessary to further improve the system.
As the California wildfires grow with devastating impacts on human life, property, and business, the potential unmanned aircraft system (UAS or drone) benefits and risks for firefighting (re)emerge. UAS stakeholders, including firefighters, are realizing the potential life-saving and fire response applications of UAS. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local emergency services remain on high alert for UAS that pose a risk to emergency responses.
Today, a federal judge struck down a Newton, Massachusetts, ordinance regulating drone operations in the city, holding that the ordinance was preempted based on Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) regulations and federal statutes. Saying the ordinance “essentially constitutes a wholesale ban on drone use” and was an “interven[tion] in the FAA’s careful regulation of aircraft safety,” District Judge William G. Young reaffirmed the FAA’s broad jurisdiction over drones (also known as unmanned aircraft systems or “UAS”) in national airspace.
As Congress considers provisions for potential inclusion in a long-term FAA Reauthorization Bill, one piece of legislation in Congress attempts to vastly redefine the relative roles of the federal and state governments. The Drone Federalism Act of 2017 is a bipartisan bill that would give additional authority to state and local governments to regulate UAS operations below 200 feet and potentially lessen the FAA’s control over certain drone operations.
Last month marked the first meeting of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS” or drones) Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (“ARC”). The ARC brought together key stakeholders to discuss regulatory issues relating to UAS ID and tracking, air traffic management for drones, and local enforcement concerns. Drone identification and tracking systems could help the FAA and the UAS industry pave the way for more flexible rules, including UAS operations over people and beyond visual line-of-sight.
On July 21, the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee (“DAC”) will hold its third meeting of 2017. The virtual meeting will provide the DAC with the opportunity to respond to the FAA’s presentation from the previous meeting and move forward with the priorities of each task group.