Tag: FAA

Updated: AGC’s Response to New Drone Use Rules

Posted on by Andria Hine
Source: AGC of America

FAA Finalizes New Federal Rules on the Commercial Use of Drones; AGC Schedules Follow-Up Programs Specifically for Construction Contractors

On June 21, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finalized a new and comprehensive set of rules for the commercial use of small drones in all industries, including construction.   This action completes a rulemaking process that the FAA began in February of 2015 – in an effort to meet Congressional demands and to stem a rapidly rising tide of applications for individual exemptions from longstanding rules that make no distinction between manned and unmanned aircraft.   Through January 20 of this year, the FAA had granted 3,136 of these exemptions for the commercial use of drones, and significantly, 48% of that total were for uses in the construction and engineering.

AGC Success

AGC submitted detailed comments on the proposed rules and continues to assess the FAA’s response.  At the outset of its letter to the agency, AGC encouraged the FAA “to create a straightforward and streamlined process for companies to request exemptions from the agency’s [proposed] requirements and restrictions” where alternative approaches to “specific aircraft operations” would be “equally effective” in addressing the agency’s concerns.

Perhaps the best news is that the FAA has taken that advice, adding “waiver authority to the regulatory text in order to accommodate . . . unique operational circumstances.”  The agency has created a new “certificate-of-waiver process” specifically to give the agency the flexibility “to assess case-specific information concerning a small UAS operation that takes place in a unique operating environment,” such as a construction jobsite.

Follow-Up Programs

AGC continues to study the final rules. It is also scheduling a series of educational programs on the specific questions drones operations will require construction contractors to address. The dates and times for the individual programs included in this WebEd series, and the topics that each will address, are the following:

Date Time Topic
September 28 2:00 p.m. Eastern How Construction Contractors Are Already Using Drones
October 5 2:00 p.m. Eastern The New Federal “Rules of the Road”
October 12 2:00 p.m. Eastern Privacy, Nuisance and Other Legal Doctrines Restricting Drone Operations
October 19 2:00 p.m. Eastern Insurance and Outsourcing Strategies for Drone Operations
October 26 2:00 p.m. Eastern How to Manage the Additional Data that Drones Generate

For more information, including links to the FAA’s summary of its new rules, to its Fact Sheet on the new rules and to the full text of the rules themselves, simply click here.

Visit AGC’s WebEd Drone Series site to register for the entire series.

DOT and FAA Finalize Rules for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Posted on by Andria Hine
Source: Federal Aviation Administration news release 06/21/2016

Regulations will create new opportunities for business and government to use drones

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration has finalized the first operational rules (PDF) for routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or “drones”), opening pathways towards fully integrating UAS into the nation’s airspace. These new regulations work to harness new innovations safely, to spur job growth, advance critical scientific research and save lives.

“We are part of a new era in aviation, and the potential for unmanned aircraft will make it safer and easier to do certain jobs, gather information, and deploy disaster relief,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We look forward to working with the aviation community to support innovation, while maintaining our standards as the safest and most complex airspace in the world.”

According to industry estimates, the rule could generate more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.

The new rule, which takes effect in late August, offers safety regulations for unmanned aircraft drones weighing less than 55 pounds that are conducting non-hobbyist operations.

The rule’s provisions are designed to minimize risks to other aircraft and people and property on the ground. The regulations require pilots to keep an unmanned aircraft within visual line of sight. Operations are allowed during daylight and during twilight if the drone has anti-collision lights. The new regulations also address height and speed restrictions and other operational limits, such as prohibiting flights over unprotected people on the ground who aren’t directly participating in the UAS operation.

The FAA is offering a process to waive some restrictions if an operator proves the proposed flight will be conducted safely under a waiver. The FAA will make an online portal available to apply for these waivers in the months ahead.

“With this new rule, we are taking a careful and deliberate approach that balances the need to deploy this new technology with the FAA’s mission to protect public safety,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “But this is just our first step. We’re already working on additional rules that will expand the range of operations.”

Under the final rule, the person actually flying a drone must be at least 16 years old and have a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, or be directly supervised by someone with such a certificate. To qualify for a remote pilot certificate, an individual must either pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center or have an existing non-student Part 61 pilot certificate. If qualifying under the latter provision, a pilot must have completed a flight review in the previous 24 months and must take a UAS online training course provided by the FAA. The TSA will conduct a security background check of all remote pilot applications prior to issuance of a certificate.

Operators are responsible for ensuring a drone is safe before flying, but the FAA is not requiring small UAS to comply with current agency airworthiness standards or aircraft certification. Instead, the remote pilot will simply have to perform a preflight visual and operational check of the small UAS to ensure that safety-pertinent systems are functioning property.  This includes checking the communications link between the control station and the UAS.

Although the new rule does not specifically deal with privacy issues in the use of drones, and the FAA does not regulate how UAS gather data on people or property, the FAA is acting to address privacy considerations in this area. The FAA strongly encourages all UAS pilots to check local and state laws before gathering information through remote sensing technology or photography.

As part of a privacy education campaign, the agency will provide all drone users with recommended privacy guidelines as part of the UAS registration process and through the FAA’s B4UFly mobile app. The FAA also will educate all commercial drone pilots on privacy during their pilot certification process; and will issue new guidance to local and state governments on drone privacy issues. The FAA’s effort builds on the privacy “best practices” (PDF) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration published last month as the result of a year-long outreach initiative with privacy advocates and industry.

Part 107 will not apply to model aircraft.  Model aircraft operators must continue to satisfy all the criteria specified in Section 336 of Public Law 112-95 (PDF) (which will now be codified in Part 101), including the stipulation they be operated only for hobby or recreational purposes.

Visit the website for more information on the FAA and UAS.