Washington Says Safety Concerns Still Causing Delays

From everyday law enforcement to border patrol and weather observations, nearly everyone agrees that UAVs could be a powerful and effective tool. But the FAA says there is still not enough data to allow them to fly safely in the U.S.

That stance is bringing the FAA under increasing pressure to start allowing those flights. "There is a tremendous pressure and need to fly unmanned aircraft in (civilian) airspace," Hank Krakowski, FAA's head of air traffic operations, told European aviation officials recently. "We are having constant conversations and discussions, particularly with the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, to figure out how we can do this safely with all these different sizes of vehicles."

Among the major safety concerns are controllers losing contact with UAVs they are operating, and the "see and avoid" rule that is the primary means of preventing accidents in uncontrolled airspace. But while the FAA admits that operators like local law enforcement agencies are frustrated that they can't use unmanned systems, it insists that safety is the primary issue. "This isn't Afghanistan. This isn't Iraq," Krakowski said in an interview. "This is a part of the world that has a lot of light airplanes flying around, a lot of business jets."

The Associated Press reports that the FAA has been working on this issue since 2006, but it has just begun to write regulations pertaining to unmanned systems. While DHS would be one of the primary operators of UAVs, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is backing the FAA on the safety issue.

Meanwhile, Congressional delegations from border states like Texas and Arizona have been pressuring the FAA to hurry things along. The Senate recently passed a bill to require the FAA to come up with a plan in a year. A House bill would give the administration until September 30th, 2013. And Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is blocking the nomination of Michael Huerta as FAA deputy administrator to keep the pressure on.

FMI: www.faa.gov