Amazon Drones Get Shot Down
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has proposed some new rules that would not allow Prime Air to operate in the U.S.A. The Prime Air is the name of Amazon’s developmental program for drone delivery.
On Sunday, the FAA released draft rules for flying small-unmanned aircraft, or drones.
The majority of the drone industry welcomed the rules, which still need to be passed, by the FAA. Some companies looking to use drones commercially will face several obstacles. Under the proposed regulations, drones cannot fly over people who are not involved in the drone operation, and an observer must fly the drones on the ground who can maintain visual contact with the aircraft.
Some of the FAA rules are:
- The unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs.
- Drone must remain in the visual line-of-sight (VLOS).
- Small Aircrafts might not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation.
- Drones must yield right-of-way to other aircrafts, manned or unmanned.
- Aircrafts can only go a maximum airspeed of 100 mph (87 knots).
- No person may act as an operator for more than one unmanned aircraft operation at one time.
- No careless or reckless operations, when flying the drones.
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The FAA needs to begin and expeditiously complete the formal process to address the needs of our business, and ultimately Amazon’s customers. Amazon is committed to realizing their vision for Prime Air and is prepared to deploy where they have the regulatory support we need.
The rules that the FAA are proposing would make Amazon’s travels a little bit difficult. The FAA is not talking about unmanned aerial vehicles, they are talking about something that has to have a person flying it.
It defeats the whole purpose.
Other companies that have been testing out drone delivery include Google and Domino’s Pizza. Also other countries including Canada, the U.K. and Denmark are using drones commercially.
The proposal raises questions about the ability of a drone to carry a payload. It could be that what the FAA officials are saying is that there is not going to be the opportunity for delivery.
“These FAA rules are a solid first step but need a lot more refining. The inclusion of the rule that drones must be flown within the operator’s line of sight appears to be a concerning limitation on commercial usage,” stated Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. He urges the FAA to modify that these rules are finalized.
