Drones Flying By Airports Coming Soon(ish)

A small drone with eight rotors, capable of working underwater, flies during a demonstration Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Lower Township, N.J.

A small drone with eight rotors, capable of working underwater, flies during a demonstration Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Lower Township, N.J. Mel Evans/AP

Current FAA regulations prohibit drones from flying within 5 miles of an airport without notifying air traffic control.

The Federal Aviation Administration expects to deliver a prototype of an automated flight certification system this year that will allow drones to fly in controlled airspace, the agency administrator said.

“This sets up what is really true integration of unmanned aircraft working in the same space as traditional manned aircraft,” Administrator Michael Huerta said May 3 at Bloomberg Government’s Next Tech event in Washington.

Under current FAA regulations, drone pilots only can operate in space up to 400 feet and their vehicles must remain in line of sight. They’re prohibited from flying over people, which rules out most urban areas, and from flying within 5 miles of an airport without notifying air traffic control.

» Get the best federal technology news and ideas delivered right to your inbox. Sign up here.

And people underestimate how many airports there are. Strict interpretation of the 5-mile rule means drone operators in the “whole state of New Jersey” can’t fly with without waivers, Huerta said. The current waiver process takes about 90 days and requires operators file flight plans that are then evaluated and reviewed. FAA’s automated system aims to speed that up considerably.

The Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, or LAANC, will provide maps, a third-party application, and instant answer for flight plans. If approved, Huerta said the system also will automatically notify air traffic control.

FAA air traffic control historically relies on a manual process: Pilots call into air traffic control for the 50,000 flights in controlled airspace that happen each day. It took 100 years to get up to the 320,000 or so planes today, Huerta said. Compare that to the more than 800,000 drones the agency registered in a year.

The sheer numbers mean FAA and its partners NASA and various technology companies continue to look at how automation and “self-separation” play roles in the UAS Traffic Management system expected sometime in 2019.

But FAA isn’t going to flip a switch that allows drones to fly freely in the sky. Instead, Huerta said the agency aims for regular progress in “staged integration,” pressing for the highest level of safety and issue new rules when it’s satisfied with the answers.

The agency continues to work with industry partners on technological solutions to some of its pressing concerns. For example, before the agency allows operators to fly drones beyond line of sight, it needs to be satisfied sense-and-avoid technology can effectively avoid collisions.

And what happens if a drone crashes into a crowd at a concert or a random (but unfortunate) person hanging out in a park?

The agency recently released a report on drone/human collisions, some of which could be mitigated by encouraging manufacturers to use softer materials, shielded blades and software that creates a controlled descent.

“If we wanted to accept no risk, we wouldn’t allow them at all,” Huerta said.

NEXT STORY: The Self-Driving Dilemma

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.