Proposals Seek to Expand Uses of Small Commercial Drones
Proposed rules would allow commercial flights over groups of people with certain safety checks
So far U.S. regulators have banned operation of any commercial drones from flying over large numbers of people. Above, a Phantom 3 drone. PHOTO: STEVE MARCUS/REUTERS
A federal advisory group has proposed rules to significantly expand uses of small commercial drones, including the first regulatory framework to conduct risk assessments of operations such as news videos, power line inspections and other types of flights over urban areas or crowds of people.
So far U.S. regulators have banned operation of any commercial drones—even those weighing just a few ounces or made from soft materials—from flying over large numbers of people.
But that restriction has rankled many industry officials, prompting creation of the advisory panel to come up with compromises covering everything from the tiniest drones to those possibly weighing dozens of pounds.
The specifics laid out Wednesday stop short of permitting widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver packages—one of the most promising though controversial potential applications—because they are primarily focused on smaller drones than typically would be used for such proposes. And the proposal still envisions restricting drone flights within sight of a single operator on the ground.
But by opening the door to flights over densely populated areas, the committee sketched out a possible trajectory for future safety analyses of package-delivery concepts.
It still could take years to implement many of the latest proposals, which were unanimously supported by experts representing more than two dozen companies, industry organizations and pilot groups.
The Federal Aviation Administration isn’t likely to follow up with a formal regulatory proposal until at least the end of the year, according to people familiar with the timetable.
Wednesday’s developments, including the agency’s unusual decision to publicize the recommendations barely days after they were received by regulators, underscore the FAA’s desire to show it is being responsive to industry and congressional pressure to open up larger swaths of airspace for a wide range of drone operations. Both the House and Senate, for example, have provisions in their respective FAA reauthorization bills requiring the agency to accelerate work that would allow commercial drone flights to go well beyond current daytime and altitude restrictions—and therefore operate more in line with what proponents of package-delivery services want.
The advisory committee’s guiding principles were safety, innovation and flexibility to ensure that consensus, industry-developed technical standards will determine ways to mitigate risks from various types of operations, Nancy Egan, general counsel of drone maker 3D Robotics and co-chairman of the panel, told reporters on a teleconference.
The package of recommendations calls for designating four categories of small drones, defined to some extent by weight but more important by safety design criteria such as speed and protective coverings for propellers, in the event the craft hits someone on the ground.
Drones weighing less than half a pound would be able to operate over people essentially without FAA restrictions, according to the recommendations, and their operators wouldn’t be subjected to any security checks or piloting tests administered at FAA facilities.
For operations in which drones fly over people briefly, or merely as an incidental part of their mission, the safety standards would entail compliance with industrywide manufacturing and safety standards.
Such uses might encompass aerial inspection of electric transmission lines, pipelines, cellular phone towers or agricultural operations.
The panel proposed the toughest restrictions—including submission of a detailed risk-mitigation plan to the FAA before takeoff— for flights intended to linger over large crowds, such as low-altitude filming of a parade, athletic event or other gathering of people.
In that instance, the agency would assess maintenance issues, pilot training and contingency plans in case of mechanical or computer failures.
In a news release, FAA chief Michael Huerta stressed the spirit of cooperation with industry. “This type of collaborative government and industry partnership is exactly what is needed to keep pace with this rapidly changing industry.” Until about a year ago, when the FAA proposed its initial rules for small commercial drones and began issuing what has turned into exemptions for thousands of operations prior to those regulations becoming final, agency leaders followed a go-slow approach.
But this time, the FAA opted for speed and transparency. The agency barely gave the committee weeks to come up with recommendations. That is an unusually short time in a rule-making process that often features similar government-industry advisory groups deliberating for a year or more before submitting their confidential conclusions, followed by the FAA’s leadership privately dissecting and considering proposals for another year or two, and sometimes longer.
Except for the smallest versions, the recommendations envision drones staying at least 20 feet above the heads of bystanders, with takeoffs and landings occurring at least 10 feet from them. The FAA intends to go ahead with its original plan and issue a final rule by the summer covering commercial drone operations, but not dealing with flights over people. Whatever the agency ultimately proposes on that issue will become a supplemental rule to the earlier effort.
The 19-page report doesn’t seek to quantify failure modes, but instead assumes that any drone “flown over people may experience a failure.”
Manufacturer testing endorsed by the FAA would demonstrate compliance with minimum operational standards, according to the recommendations. In the worst case scenario of maximum impact, manufacturers would have to show that the likelihood of serious injury to someone on the ground from such an accident would be less than one in three.
But the report also emphasizes that the panel considered only potential injuries caused by loss of power causing a drone to fall on a victim, rather than loss of control with the drone continuing to fly.
