FAA Making Progress on Drones, but Struggles To Keep Up, SXSW Told
The Federal Aviation Administration has made substantial progress on unmanned aircraft systems, said Greg McNeal, associate professor of law at Pepperdine University, a former FAA critic. But industry is reaching a critical point, said McNeal, speaking on a panel Tuesday hosted by CTA at South by Southwest and streamed from Austin.
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The FAA has started to find ways to open things up for drones, McNeal said. “But the challenge that any regulatory agency has is they’re bound by statute and they’re bound by procedures.” Without a statutory basis for acting more freely, “most inside the agency are inclined to operate according to the strict letter of the law,” he said.
Drones are raising issues the FAA never had to address before, said Marke Gibson, FAA senior adviser on UAS integration. The earliest commercial drones used traditional aviation communications, boxes and systems. Then came the onslaught of smaller UASs. “The communications now is not the traditional” players, “it’s Qualcomm, Verizon and AT&T,” Gibson said. “It’s bringing in a whole, entirely different group.”
The question is how the FAA engages with a new community of drone enthusiasts, Gibson said. “They just wanted to go fly their kite,” he said. “Yeah, but the kite can go to several thousand feet and can create a hazard.” Most people, “I’m certain, just want to do the right thing,” but the FAA has to adjust, he said. “Innovate, but safely.”
Some have asked Congress for help, McNeal said. Congress is looking at whether to loosen the rules for microdrones used by business, he said. The micro rule has support in the House and advocates are now lobbying the Senate, he said: “Too much regulation is burdensome.”
Jon Resnik, policy lead at drone manufacturer DJI, said getting the rules right is key to industry growth. “Our product cycles are very quick,” he said. DJI’s Phantom 1 drone is 3 years old, and the company is already selling the Phantom 4, he said. The latest drone is the first noncommercial drone with "sense and avoid technology," which will be key to sector growth, he said.
“A lot of [the] time, our product cycle is going to be faster than a bureaucratic regime,” Resnik said. DJI could build a new device in six months and then have to wait another six months for it to be approved, he said. “We don’t think that really enhances safety, enhances innovation at all.” Drones, with no passengers, shouldn’t face the same requirements as normal aircraft, he said. Someday, a drone will cause a safety problem, Resnik said: “To try to create a regulatory environment that ensures that that never, ever, ever happens is not possible.”
McNeal said 750 people were killed last year by chainsaws. “Any one of you could go to Home Depot and buy a chainsaw,” he said. “You won’t need to pass a chainsaw knowledge exam prior to using a chainsaw.”