Over the weekend of Feb. 14, the FAA issued a much-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)—i.e., drones weighing less than 55 pounds. The oft-delayed NPRM comes three years after Congress— through the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the ‘‘2012 Act’’)—directed the FAA to develop and implement ‘‘comprehensive’’ regulations to safely integrate drones into the national airspace. The NPRM initiates what is expected to be a years-long process of rulemaking to establish the regulatory regime for drones of all shapes and sizes.

By and large, the NPRM represents a practical approach to allowing low-risk UAS operations during the day in uncongested airspace within the visual line of sight of the operator and subject to speed, altitude and weight restrictions. The NPRM also creates a new class of UAS pilot qualifications, recognizing that the FAA’s current process for pilot certification is not a good fit for UAS.

Originally published in Bloomberg BNA on February 18, 2015.