In this paper by Suzette Matthews, Esq. and Frank L. Frisbie, P.E., the authors postulate that the absence of an articulated paradigm and decisional standards for determining whether a particular UAS operation will be “reasonably safe” for performance over the non-consenting public is the most significant barrier to certification/operating approval for commercial UAS.
The authors attribute this gap to, and describe, dysfunctional behaviours on the part of FAA that avoid/prevent effective safety decision making, and discuss why such behaviours are intractable as long as safety decisions reside within government. To effectively address this decisional dysfunction, the authors recommend that FAA’s safety role and authorities be transferred out of government as an element of Congressional legislative corporatization/privatisation legislation.
The complete paper can be accessed here.
SAFE ACCESS UAS is an affiliation of aviation professionals and organizations dedicated to facilitating integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National and Global Airspace Systems.
Member organizations are directed and managed by recognized leaders of the aviation community, including former FAA, NASA. and Congressional senior executives, as well as thought leaders drawn from the UAS and NextGen technology and R&D communities.
Members individually and in custom tailored collaborations offer on-demand, turn key expert professional safety, policy, and government relations services helpful to UAS operators, UAS test sites, and other public and private organizations. None are financially or organizationally affiliated with any Test Site or UAS operator, and can therefore provide safety services without concern for conflicts of interest. Services are provided on a negotiated fee for service basis.
Source: Press Release