FAA proposes new regulations for drones

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently proposed a framework of regulations that would allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as drones, for commercial purposes.

You may remember Hank Lerner’s article, Are drones legal in real estate practice?, which we published back in November. We told you “no” before and we still mean it – at least for now.  The public has 60 days to comment from the date of publication in the Federal Register, and then experts say it could take up to another 18 months to finalize and publish the rules, and nothing changes until then.

The good news is that if passed, drones will be allowed for commercial businesses, provided they follow the regulations. The FAA estimates more than 7,000 companies would utilize drones for business in the first three years.

The proposal offers safety rules for small drones (under 55 pounds) conducting non-recreational operations. “The rule would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations. It also addresses height restrictions, operator certification, optional use of a visual observer, aircraft registration and marking and operational limits,” according to the press release.

For example, users are not permitted to let the drone go out of their sight, and drones also may not be used at night. Drones would not be allowed to fly faster than 100 miles an hour and no higher than 500 feet.

“We have tried to be flexible in writing these rules,” Michael Huerta, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a statement. “We want to maintain today’s outstanding level of aviation safety without placing an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry.”

It is also important to note that the proposal states that users will need to be certified, by passing an aeronautical knowledge test and obtaining an FAA UAS operator certificate. Users must be 17 years or older.

The current unmanned aircraft rules remain in place until the FAA implements a final new rule.

For more information, visit KnowBeforeYouFly.org.