UAS Exemption Considered
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the first commercial flights over land by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The flights — by energy corporation BP and UAS manufacturer AeroVironment — were conducted for aerial surveys of BP pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
The first flight — by an AeroVironment Puma AE, a hand-launched vehicle with a 9-ft (3-m) wingspan — was conducted on June 8.
The FAA also is reviewing requests from seven aerial photo and video production firms for approval to begin operating UAS before the FAA proposes regulations for their use.
The companies have asked to be exempt from certain regulations involving pilot certificate requirements, manuals, maintenance, equipment mandates, aircraft certification and other flight rules, the FAA said. If the FAA agrees, the companies would be permitted to operate UAS aircraft in “narrowly defined, controlled, low-risk situations,” the ag…
