US regulators are working towards approving exemptions for “low risk” flights of unmanned aircraft as the Federal Aviation Administration wrestles with ongoing integration issues.
Jim Williams, manager of the agency’s unmanned aerial system (UAS) integration office, said on 13 May that four companies have “approached” the FAA about filing for exemptions, but is unsure how many will move forward and file the paperwork.
The companies want to use UAVs for four commercial purposes: filming, power line inspection, precision agriculture and flare stack inspection, says Williams.
The FAA Reauthorization Act allows the agency to grant exemptions for operations it determines do not pose significant risks. “These operations are specific, limited and low risk to people and property on the ground,” Williams says.
He does not specify when the companies first approached the FAA, saying only that discussions began “some time” ago.
“The new part of it is we are actually getting close to somebody filing a request,” Williams says.
But the exemption process could be lengthy because the first exemption must be published for public comment prior to approval, says Williams.
“Things like this can take some time,” he says, but adds that the exemptions “will be actually be approved.”
Brendan Schulman, head of unmanned aircraft systems at law firm Kramer Levin, says exemptions might not be easy to obtain, however.
“Based on my clients’ past experiences, exemptions are not readily granted. I would not necessarily expect the FAA to be quick to grant exemptions.”
During much of his comments, Williams stressed that UAVs can pose significant safety issues, noting that recent crashes of small UAVs have caused injuries in the US and overseas.
The agency expects to release its small UAV rule later this year, though Williams says the full rulemaking process typically takes about seven years.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
