Legal Aspects of Emergency Services by West Gregory;

Author:West, Gregory;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Drones

Over the past several years, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as “drones,” have enjoyed increasing popularity with hobbyists, photographers, videographers, retailers, and others. Those who are unfamiliar with drones can be surprised to hear that the use of drones, even recreationally, is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA was created in an earlier form (as the Federal Aviation Agency) through the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 USC: Transportation). (Prior to that, the regulation of aviation in the United States fell predominantly under the U.S. Department of Commerce [as per the Air Commerce Act of 1926].)

Since its inception, the FAA has been tasked with providing for the safe and efficient use of national airspace. As of March 2020, the FAA reported that it handles more than 44,000 flights each day (with over 2.7 million passengers flying in and out of U.S. airports daily) across 5,300,000 square miles of domestic airspace with approximately 5000 various aircraft in the sky at peak operational times. There are 19,622 airports in the United States (5092 public airports and 14,530 private airports) and approximately 44.3 billion pounds of freight are flown within the United States every year. The FAA also reported that aviation contributes 5.1% to the U.S. gross domestic product, and it creates more than $446.8 billion in annual earnings from about 10.6 million aviation-related jobs. Needless to say, the country has a significant, vested interest in maintaining a strong aviation system.

There have been subsequent federal laws after 1958 that have significantly impacted the provisions of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. The most pressing to this discussion on drones was the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which established new conditions for recreational use of drones. While recreational UAS operators may fly below 400 feet in uncontrolled airspace without specific certification or operating authority from the FAA, several other requirements still apply:

The UAS must be registered with the FAA and that registration number must be physically denoted and visible on the outside of the UAS. (The operator must carry proof of the registration when operating the UAS.)

Obtain authorization before flying in controlled airspace (over 400 feet).

Drone must stay within the operator’s visual line of sight (or the line of sight of a visual observer who is physically next to and in direction communication with the operator).

Do not fly at night unless the drone has lighting that allows the operator to know its location and orientation at all times.

Do not fly over any person or moving vehicle.

Give way to and do not interfere with manned aircraft.

Never interfere with emergency response activities (including firefighting).

Never fly under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Do not operate the UAS in a careless or reckless manner.

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