CEA Hails Rulemaking on Small Commercial Drones, Urges FAA To Allow Package Deliveries

CEA hails the Federal Aviation Administration for finally releasing its proposed rules on small drones, President Gary Shapiro said Monday in a statement. But the rulemaking notice is “only the liftoff stage toward needed final rules,” Shapiro said. “It will be important to strike the appropriate regulatory balance between innovation and safety, and we urge the FAA to expedite this rulemaking action to fully realize commercial drones’ potential as a truly disruptive technology.” CEA thinks drones “will revolutionize a broad array of consumer and commercial sectors, bringing with them innovative new businesses and thousands of jobs,” Shapiro said. Amazon had asked the FAA for an exemption to test-fly small commercial drones on its Seattle property (see 1407150075). The FAA’s proposed rules wouldn't prohibit industries from using drones to transport cargo, “so long as it is not done for compensation and the total weight of the aircraft, including the property, is less than 55 pounds,” the notice said. The agency seeks comment on whether drones should be permitted to transport property for payment “within the other proposed constraints of the rule,” such as the requirements for line of sight operations. It also seeks comment on whether a special class of “air carrier certification” should be developed for commercial operations of small drones. Release of the rulemaking notice came roughly 11 months after CEA and the Aerospace Industries Association joined in urging the FAA to speed the rulemaking process along (see 1403280033). The rulemaking notice also came nearly five years after an FAA-“chartered” aviation rulemaking committee completed work on a 74-page report of comprehensive recommendations on small drones use (see 1403310035). Comments on the proposed rules are due 60 days after they’re published in the Federal Register. Although privacy issues as they pertain to drones "are beyond the scope" of its rulemaking, the FAA and the Department of Transportation will participate in NTIA's "multi-stakeholder engagement process" on the "privacy, accountability, and transparency issues" of commercial drone operations, the notice said (see 1502170038).