drone regulation News

U.S. Approves Commercial Drone Flights Over Populated Areas With Tracking

Commercial drone use for deliveries and services cleared a major hurdle in the U.S. with new rules allowing the devices to fly over populated areas for the first time and requirements for tracking them to address safety and security concerns. …

Alphabet Has High Hopes for Its Drone Traffic Control App OpenSky

The company that brought you free digital maps and email wants to do the same thing for your drone. Wing LLC, an offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, on Tuesday unveiled a new app it calls OpenSky that it hopes will …

Accidents Could Ground Drone Industry, House Committee Chair Warns

The commercial drone industry could be torpedoed if there were a serious accident involving a drone and a commercial aircraft, the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee warned on Friday. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, said in …

Calls for Regulation of Hobbyist Drones Follow Latest Close Encounter Report

A video from a drone that flew within feet of an airliner over Las Vegas and prompted outrage on the internet has spurred three influential U.S. aviation lobbies to call for tighter regulations on hobby drones. Legislation exempting certain hobbyist …

Drone Maker DJI Offers Operator ID Framework

The world’s largest maker of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), China’s DJI, has proposed an electronic identification framework for UAS that would allow authorities in the United States to identify drone owners when necessary while also respecting their privacy. Last year, …

Reported Drone Flying Violations Up 46%

Reports of drone safety violations continued to increase during 2016. There were 1,274 reports from February through September last year, compared with 874 for the same period in 2015 — a 46 percent increase. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released …

Case Testing FAA Authority to Regulate Drones Advances

The father and son who posted videos of drones firing a handgun and incinerating a Thanksgiving turkey with a flame-thrower can be questioned by aviation regulators, a U.S. judge ruled in a closely watched case that may determine the government’s …

FAA Creates Drone Advisory Panel, Lifts Barrier to Education

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is establishing a broad-based advisory committee to provide advice on key unmanned aircraft integration issues. Also, under a new policy, the agency will also make it easier for students to fly unmanned aircraft as part …

Pilots: Don’t Underestimate Safety Threat Posed by Drones

You’re landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on the “expressway” approach—it’s called that because you come in low enough to buzz the Grand Central Parkway and Mets’ Citi Field before dropping down quickly on a runway that perches over the …

Senate Bill Would Require Testing Drone Operators on Rules of the Sky

All U.S. drone operators would for the first time have to prove they understand aviation regulations under broad legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate. A bill setting policy for the Federal Aviation Administration includes several new drone provisions, including a …