Hasty Regulations Threaten Growth of UAS Industry, Hill Speakers Say
by AUVSI News
In 2015, nearly every state in the union considered some type of legislation that would affect unmanned aircraft operations, but such efforts often run afoul of federal responsibilities and could stymie a growing industry, according to speakers at an AUVSI-sponsored briefing on Capitol Hill.
AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne said that while efforts are ongoing to create rules governing UAS, the lack of regulations is prompting states and municipalities to step in and fill the void. At the briefing, representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and law firm Wiley Rein discussed the impact this is having.
Reggie Govan, chief counsel for the FAA, said airspace control is well defined after decades of legislation that only settled down in the 1950s and 1960s, but all of that was written for manned aircraft. It states that the FAA has jurisdiction over navigating, protecting and identifying aircraft, so many local and state rules that seek to limit flight are running counter to federal jurisdiction.
States and localities have the authority to locate facilities such as airports and helipads, he said, which then affects airspace regulation.
Now, however, “there is a debate to be had,” because unmanned aircraft are different in that they can be launched from virtually anywhere by people who aren’t pilots.
Govan said he would like to see technology progress more on detect-and-avoid systems and related technologies before too much legislation is put in place, potentially hampering the growth of the industry.
"What we want to have is a lot of innovation and then start fine-tuning the overall structure,” Govan said.
Josh Turner of Wiley Rein agreed, saying local jurisdictions may be rushing to solve problems that won’t be problems for long, while locking in long-term restrictions.
Tom Karol, general counsel for federal affairs at NAMIC, said in the meantime the industry is held back by a lack of regulation and data, which makes it hard to provide insurance for potential commercial drone users.
"The biggest problem we have is that the law is still being determined as to what is permissible and what is not permissible," he said.
Compounding that, there is no central gathering place for data on how often drones crash and when they crash, what damage they can do.
There is a significant industry pull, Karol said. One of his organization’s members had five people fall off roofs recently while performing post-snow inspections, work that could be done more safely using a drone.
Unmanned aircraft can be invaluable in post-disaster situations, even smaller ones where tornadoes might destroy a few houses, he said.
"If we can get in there as soon as possible, ... we can save a tremendous amount of money and further damage,” Karol said.
