HR 658 on UAS Drones
On Feb 6, 2013, the House gave final passage to the legislation. House approval came on a quite The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill later today.
Here are details on what the bill would do in terms of drones:
•
Require the FAA to simplify and
speed up the process by which it
issues permission to government
agencies to operate Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS) drones. It must
do this within 90 days. The FAA has
already been working on a set of
proposed regulations to loosen the
rules around Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAV) drones, reportedly set
for release in the spring of 2012.
• Require the FAA to allow “a
government public safety agency” to
operate any UAS drone weighing 4.4
pounds or less as long as certain
conditions are met (within line of
sight, during the day, below 400
feet in altitude, and only in safe
categories of airspace).
• Require the FAA to establish a
pilot project within six months to
create six test zones for
integrating UAV drones “into the
national airspace system.”
• Require the FAA to create a
comprehensive plan “to safely
accelerate the integration of civil
unmanned aircraft systems into the
national airspace system.” “Civil”
drones means those operated by the
private sector; currently it is all
but impossible for any
non-government entity, except for
hobbyists, to get permission to fly
drones (for-profit use of drones is
banned). Industry groups and their
congressional supporters see this as
a potential area for growth.
Congress specifies that the plan
must provide for the integration of
drones into the national airspace
system “as soon as practicable, but
not later than September 30, 2015.”
The FAA has nine months to create
the plan. The FAA is also required
to create a “5-year roadmap for the
introduction” of civil UAS drones into
the national airspace.
• Require the FAA to publish a final
rule within 18 months after the
comprehensive plan is submitted,
“that will allow” civil operation of
small (under 55 pounds) drones in
the national airspace, and a
proposed rule for carrying out the
comprehensive plan.
