The FAA will soon publish a proposed regulation that would allow flights of small drones for commercial purposes at night and over people under certain conditions.
US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the pending release of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) governing small drones Jan. 14 in a speech at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board. The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register “as soon as possible,” a date that will be followed by a 60-day comment period, she said.
Under its Part 107 regulation, which became effective in August 2016, the FAA does not allow commercial operators of drones weighing under 55 lbs. to fly them at night or over people without first obtaining a waiver. The proposed rule would expand the activities allowed under the regulation to allow night flights if the operator has received appropriate training, completed approved testing, and fitted the aircraft with anti-collision lighting, according to a copy of Chao’s remarks.
“The proposed rule would allow drones to make routine flights over people without a waiver or an exemption under certain conditions,” she added. “These conditions depend upon the level of risk to people on the ground and are spelled out clearly in the proposal.”
Chao also announced that three contracts have been awarded to commercial service entities to provide unmanned aircraft system (UAS) traffic management (UTM) services to include flight planning, communications, separation assurance and weather data for drones flying below 400 ft. off the ground, the current FAA standard…
