The FAA made a big splash a few days ago when it granted the first Section 333 exemptions for six cinematography companies. Of course, reading second- and third-hand news reports, usually filed by reporters who have not actually read the exemptions, leads to a lot of false impressions over what the FAA actually is permitting. … Continue Reading
When will businesses be able to fly UASs in the continental United States? Today! The FAA, with well-deserved fanfare, announced that it has granted the first Section 333 exemption petitions permitting commercial UAS operations. When the Section 333 exemption process was announced back in May of this year, it was greeted with a certain amount … Continue Reading
Free Webinar What The Proposed Rule Changes Mean to You, Why You Should Be Interested And What You Can Do October 8, 2014 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST RSVP HERE! On August 12, 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing “to amend its regulations that address … Continue Reading
The public discussion over whether a given UAS flight is permissible has centered on whether the operator is a hobbyist or a commercial operator. Unfortunately, airspace restrictions seem to be largely overlooked. The University of Michigan’s interaction with the FAA this weekend has, however, pushed the airspace issues back into the spotlight. This weekend the … Continue Reading
The FAA has taken an important step towards increasing the usefulness of the UAS test sites and expanding the path towards issuance of airworthiness certificates for UASs. On September 17, 2014, the FAA issued Order 8000.372, which sets forth the policy and procedures for the selection, appointment, orientation, training, oversight, suspension, and termination of designated … Continue Reading
The NTSB may soon be back to full strength. The White House just announced Dr. Bella Dinh-Zarr as the nominee to fill the spot on the Board left by the retirement of NTSB Board Chairman Deborah Hersman in April 2014. Dr. Bella Dinh-Zarr received a B.A. from Rice University, and an M.P.H. and Ph.D. from … Continue Reading
While UAS operators in the United States are frustrated at the slow pace of UAS integration, at least we have something the Europeans do not, uniformity. Imagine trying to run a broad based UAS business in this country if there was no FAA oversight. The patchwork of restrictions and permissions would by dizzying, not to … Continue Reading
A $6.7 million settlement was recently reached in the lawsuit arising out of tragic death of Steve Allen, a pilot who specialized in low altitude agricultural operations such as crop dusting. Mr. Allen had a spotless safety record with over 26,000 hours in agricultural flights. In 2011, Mr. Allen was flying at low altitude spreading … Continue Reading
Readers of Plane-ly Spoken know about the longstanding battle between Texas Equusearch and the FAA. Texas Equusearch filed suit earlier this year in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit alleging that the FAA had no authority to put any limits on their use of a UAS for search and … Continue Reading
People have been complaining for a while now that the FAA got caught flat-footed by the rise of UAS technology and has been playing catch-up ever since. Whether or not that criticism is entirely fair, the FAA is not the only aviation regulatory body that has been struggling with these issues. The legal status of … Continue Reading
Readers of this blog are thoroughly immersed in FAA and UAS issues, and are up to date on what can and can’t be done with a drone. As a result, we sometimes lose perspective on how little the vast majority of people in the country know. A brief story by ABC News from Stockton California, … Continue Reading
It’s been widely reported in both the general media and the aviation trade press that the National Transportation Safety Board has removed both the UPS pilot’s union and the company as parties to accident investigation arising from the August 14, 2013, Birmingham, AL, accident, which took the lives of the two pilots. Given the fact … Continue Reading
On Saturday, a sharp eyed TV cameraman spotted a small UAS hovering over the University of Texas football stadium during the Longhorn’s home opener. Unfortunately for the UAS operator, a University of Texas student, there were also sharp eyed policemen on the job who managed to track him down during the second half. According to … Continue Reading
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Breakfast Briefing If you plan on using UAS in Georgia don’t miss this briefing … Drones in Georgia: How the UAS Industry will Transform the State’s Public and Private Sectors September 23, 2014 8:00 am – 10:30 am McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP 303 Peachtree Street, NE 53rd Floor Atlanta, Georgia … Continue Reading
