2015 Issue

67 Safety in the National Airspace System has always been the pri- mary concern of the FAA. In 2013, the FAA levied its first $10,000 fine against Swiss national Raphael Pirker for alleged reckless commercial operation of a UAS on the campus of University of Virginia. Pirker appealed the fine. In court Pirker argued that his UAS was a model airplane and that the FAA had no author- ity to regulate it. A National Transportation Safety Board law judge initially ruled for Pirker, but the decision was eventually overturned, effectively classifying UASs as aircraft that do indeed fall under the FAA’s jurisdiction. In February of 2015 the FAA released their first draft of proposed legislation concerning integration of small UASs (or sUASs) under 55 pounds into the National Airspace System. Many industry experts were quite surprised how liberal and business-friendly the proposed regulations appeared. Highlights of the proposed legislation included: - Visual line-of-sight of the sUAS must be maintained by operator or the visual observer throughout the mission. - Daylight operations only. - sUASs must yield to other aircraft. - Maximum airspeed of 100 mph. - Maximum altitude of 500 feet above ground level. In stark contrast to all previous indications from the FAA, the proposed legislation did not require sUAS operators to have a Private or Commercial Pilot license. Instead, the FAA proposed an unmanned aircraft Operator Certificate with a small UAS rat- ing. Operators would be required to pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center. This Certificate would have to be refreshed every two years. It appears that the U.S. government is attempting to fast track this legislation by shortening public comment periods, and getting it into the hands of lawmakers during the Summer of 2015. Whatever the outcome of this proposed legislation, there is a little known process that any commercial or for-profit entity can go through with the FAA to gain the legal ability to fly UAS technology today. Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for a UAS to op- erate safely in the National Airspace System. This authority is being leveraged to grant case-by-case authorization for certain UAS to perform commercial operations prior to the finalization of the sUAS legislation. The Section 333 Exemption process provides operators who wish to pursue safe and legal entry into the National Airspace System a competitive advantage in the UAS marketplace, thus discouraging illegal operations and improving safety. At the time of this writing, there had been over 300 applicants for a 333 Exemption, and 28 granted by the FAA. For private firms or public agencies involved in producing topo- graphic surveys, calculating volumes, creating as-built surveys, monitoring construction, asset inspections, disaster management, vegetation health monitoring, erosion monitoring or a variety of other applications, there are clear pathways to safe and legal use of UAS technology today and in the days to come.