The FAA published on December 31 a detailed and long-awaited proposal to create a system to track and manage every flight by millions of drones, and many stakeholders responded swiftly: The online document logged more than 100,000 views and 1,000 comments within three days of its publication.
Initial feedback on the drone identification and tracking notice of proposed rulemaking was decidedly negative. Many if not most of the first 1,000 comments voiced concern about remote pilot privacy, new limitations on where and how drones can be flown, and financial costs both known and unknown. The FAA set a March 2 deadline for public comment.
AOPA Director of Regulatory Affairs Christopher Cooper said the association’s analysis of this notice of proposed rulemaking is ongoing, and the association will weigh in on specifics once the details of what the FAA has put forward are fully understood. Cooper said feedback from members will also inform the association’s positions, and more time may be needed to allow all stakeholders to fully digest and understand FAR Part 89, the new regulation the FAA seeks to create while amending others.
“We plan to carefully review this very important proposed rule to determine all of the potential impacts to both our manned and unmanned members,” Cooper said. “Meanwhile, at first glance, this proposed rule is a step in the right direction toward further integrating UAS safely into the National Airspace System, while also providing tools to protect the public from nefarious and reckless operators. However, you can expect we will have much more to say in the weeks ahead on how the FAA can improve this proposed rule.”
Source: AOPA