The Federal Aviation Administration has been frustratingly slow in issuing guidelines for the commercial use of drones weighing 55 pounds or less. So it’s a relief that the agency has finally released proposed rules.
The wheels of bureaucracy may turn slowly, but not at least without occasional result.
Thankfully, the new rules also seem more reasonable than many drone proponents feared, although they remain a work in progress.
For example, press reports late last year indicated that the FAA was considering requiring a pilot’s license for operation of a drone. If so, that burdensome idea was rightly rejected. Instead, drone pilots will have to pass a written test, renewed every two years. Unfortunately, the test will be available only at aviation centers, not online, so it’s not yet clear what level of inconvenience the process will entail. But certification is clearly warranted as a way to enhance safety and accountability.
Equally crucial for accountability is an identifying number on each drone that would be linked to an owner — something else the FAA intends to mandate.
Several of the limitations do appear short-sighted, such as requiring drones to remain in an operator’s line of sight or that of observers — which could inhibit their use on farms. But the FAA appears willing to reassess as the process moves forward.
Drones have a host of potential applications — in everything from agriculture and resource extraction to news gathering, movie-making, surveying, real estate, wildlife management and more.
Companies such as Amazon have generated the most buzz by insisting that fleets of drones could be used to deliver consumer goods efficiently and at low cost. And although that vision is years away, at least in the United States, don’t rule it out, given the stunning pace of technological change.
“We have tried to be flexible in writing these rules,” Michael P. Huerta, the FAA administrator, said in a statement.
Now if he could just make sure there are no more delays. Even if all goes well, final rules will not appear for two more years. Meanwhile, drones will remain in unfortunate limbo.
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