The rule comes with several caveats: use of drones is restricted to daylight and twilight hours, operators are asked to avoid flying drones over people, and the aircraft are required to weigh 55 lbs. or less and fly below 400 ft. Operators—who have to be at least 16 years of age— would be restricted to flying one drone at a time and vehicles would have to be within their line of sight. Pilots will also have to to pass a written test and undergo a security vetting process in order to operate the drones. Federal officials are willing to make some exceptions, offering applications for waivers for those who want to use their drones at night and fly over crowds.
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said Tuesday the rules are a first step in better regulating drones and increasing innovation in the aviation sector. “This is a big [step],” Foxx said on a call with reporters on Tuesday, “but there will be more in the future.”
Drone Country: See America From Above
House boats appear next to the shoreline of Bidwell Canyon on Lake Oroville in Northern California on November 25, 2014. Lake Oroville is California's second largest reservoir, and is currently 70% empty as a result of the state's severe drought.Tomas van Houtryve—VIICampers appear in an RV park in Fernley, Nevada on November 25, 2014. The nearby Amazon Fulfillment Center recruits people living out of RVs to work on the floor of their warehouse during peak holiday shipping season. Many of the campers are senior citizens whose homes or savings were wiped out by the 2008 economic crisis.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA parking lot for an Amazon fulfillment center appears in New Jersey on November 11, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterA residential apartment complex appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterVacation homes appear on the New Jersey Shore on November 11, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterAn empty drive-in movie theater appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterA farm house and field appear outside Trenton, New Jersey on November 11, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterCows gather for water and alfalfa distributed by a rancher in a drought-devastated pasture in Merced County, California on November 26, 2014. As with many areas of the Central Valley of California, these cows would not be able to survive without this kind of supplemental nutrition.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA run-down neighborhood appears in North Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014. In 2012, the FBI ranked Camden as having the most violent crime per capita of any American city with a population of over 50,000. The local police installed millions of dollars of surveillance equipment in residential neighborhoods, including cameras and microphones that detect the exact location of gunshots.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIHorse stalls appear near Fernley, Nevada on November 24, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA swamp appears near Brookfield, Connecticut on November 8, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterBeachfront vacation units appear on Cape Cod, Massachusetts on Nov. 7, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterThe USS New Jersey, a decommissioned battleship, appears on the Delaware river off Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA college campus appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterLacrosse players warm up before practice in Clark County, Nevada on January 20, 2014. The nearby Creech Air Force is the main command center for overseas drone strikes.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterWiggins Park Marina appears in Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII
While the new rule is wide-ranging and has earned the praise of leading drone manufacturer DJI and the Academy of Model Aeronautics, it does not address the use of unmanned vehicles for delivery. Retail giant Amazon has issued plans for a future drone delivery service that would get parcels from the computer screen to a purchaser’s hands within an hour, but there is no current regulation that could help make that plan a reality. Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta said Tuesday said there’s an “active research process” underway but there is still a lot of research and “pathfinding” to do in order to ensure businesses can safely operate multiple drones over densely populated areas, which would be required under Amazon’s plan. The rule also does not thoroughly address privacy concerns.
