The FAA’s draft rule opens up the possibility of using so-called small “commercial drones” in the National Airspace, thus encouraging the emerging UAS industry.

Introduction -

Since 2007, Congress has been calling upon the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to act on small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration. The economic opportunities of UAS have been well documented, and other countries like Japan and Australia have already capitalized on their broad applications. After eight years, on February 15, 2015, the FAA has finally revealed its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and draft rule (the 2015 small UAS rule) regarding the operation of small UAS for non-recreational — i.e., commercial — purposes.1 The 2015 small UAS rule would allow, subject to restrictions, private individuals to operate only small UAS in the National Airspace without a Special Airworthiness Certification. The FAA considers this draft rule as its first cautious step forward in the process of integrating UAS into the National Airspace. Concurrently, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum in which he addressed various privacy and civil liberties issues raised by UAS use of the National Airspace. The FAA contends that privacy issues fall outside the scope of the FAA’s proposed rulemaking and instead will be addressed through the Department of Commerce. How the privacy issues will be harmonized with the FAA’s current operational rulemaking is left unanswered. This omission suggests a lengthy and potentially contentious process.