The good news, such as it is, is that debris and bodies, both identified as coming from AirAsia 8501, have been found and it seems as if the search area for the rest of the aircraft and its occupants is narrowing down. The bad news is that what isn’t narrowing down is the speculation. Theories … Continue Reading
“An Airplane Is Down … in a Foreign Country: Again” February 3-5, 2015 Ritz Carlton | McLean, Virginia RSVP HERE! Breaking News! “Reports have been received that air traffic control has lost contact with Nimbus Airlines Flight 514, a Boeing 767 aircraft, carrying a crew of 12 and 143 passengers. At the time, the aircraft … Continue Reading
All of us are stunned to hear the news about AirAsia 8501 and the fact that it has gone missing on a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. Having just experienced the on-going tragedies of MH17 and MH370, the fact of another aircraft catastrophe, particularly involving an aircraft gone missing, is itself a catastrophe. Putting … Continue Reading
Plane-ly Spoken has long advocated a vigorous FAA hobbyist education program as a way to cut down on the alarming number of near-miss incidents between UAS and aircraft. The FAA has heard these calls, and has responded with a new joint initiative between FAA, AUVSI, and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). According to the … Continue Reading
From all of us at Plane-ly Spoken, warmest wishes to our readers for this holiday season! It’s IFR weather along much of the east coast so the FAA will have its hands full providing appropriate separation for our once a year visitor who lands on unpublished, private landing strips, i.e. rooftops. As we approach the … Continue Reading
In October, the FAA issued updated enforcement guidelines addressing penalties for improperly flying a UAS. Plane-ly Spoken has previously discussed these new guidelines, but there is one aspect of them that deserves some additional focus, particularly in light of the continuing discussion swirling around whether UAS operators should be required to hold a private pilots … Continue Reading
This law firm has been engaged in order to advise you regarding the restrictions associated with the delivery of packages placed under seasonal greenery (hereinafter “Christmas Trees”) which contain toys known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems, remotely piloted vehicles and/or unmanned aircraft vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “UAS”). We note that the word “drones” should be … Continue Reading
We wrote earlier this week about the bold changes made by Canada to their UAS regulatory framework. Not to be outdone, New Zealand has just issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for their new commercial UAS regulations and they are, if anything, even less restrictive. Late last year, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority … Continue Reading
On July 6, 2013, Asiana Flight 214, a Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft, crashed on approach to San Francisco International Airport. All of the usual accident investigation and liability issues ensued, but a whole additional dimension presented itself when, in an unprecedented action, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) fined Asiana Airlines $500,000.00 for violations of … Continue Reading
No airplane! No news! No nothing! That is unless you consider the report that Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, is quoted as saying that “Malaysians are stupid. They don’t know how to manage aviation.” Link The statement was reportedly made following the announcement by Malaysian Government investment fund, which controls Malaysia Airlines, … Continue Reading
As previously reported in Plane-ly Spoken, on November 15, 2014, Lisa Ellman, co-chair of McKenna Long’s UAS Practice Group, provided a cutting edge Tedx Talk that described how government policy and entrepreneurial innovation can work best together. During the presentation, she explains, using some dramatic props, the current lively debate surrounding “drone fever”—about the domestic … Continue Reading
Today, the FAA granted its second batch of Section 333 Exemptions. This finally puts to rest the notion that the Exemption process is not a real process, or that somehow, only companies with power and prestige like Hollywood film makers are going to be allowed to operate. The five exemptions granted cover operations for aerial … Continue Reading
Despite the fact that we are in the last days of a lame duck Congress, the House of Representatives is closing the year on a strong note, with a hearing at 10 a.m. this morning on the FAA’s UAS integration efforts. The hearing will be live streamed, and can be viewed HERE. The Subcommittee on … Continue Reading
Senator Diane Feinstein has emerged as a champion of increased FAA enforcement action against UAS operators. In a recent letter to FAA Administrator Huerta, Senator Feinstein urged the FAA to “vigorously enforce laws and regulations against the unsafe operation of drones and to warn operators about the potential hazards and consequences of reckless behavior.” Senator … Continue Reading
Last Friday, Transport Canada unveiled the long awaited revamp of its commercial UAS regulatory system. This is one instance where the changes actually lived up to all of the hype surrounding the announcement. Up until now, anyone who wanted to fly a UAS for commercial purposes in Canada needed a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC). … Continue Reading
The level of hysteria following the decision of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reversing the administrative law judge’s decision in Pirker and upholding the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regulate UAS is noteworthy if, for nothing else, its sheer stupidity. One blogger suggests that, based upon the NTSB decision, a paper … Continue Reading
