US Senator Says Unregulated Drone Use Poses Danger to Flight Safety

US Senator claims that US federal agencies must urgently act to regulate drone activity.

 

WASHINGTON, January 17 (Sputnik) — US federal agencies must urgently act to regulate drone activity, US Senator Charles Schumer said Friday, citing instances of unmanned aerial vehicles flying close to airports.

“With recent instances of drones flying dangerously close to Westchester County Airport, as well as airports frequented by local travelers, like JFK and LaGuardia, it is clear that commercial drone use has crossed over from unregulated to potentially deadly,” the New York State senator said in a press release on the issue.

The senator is calling for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create clear rules this year to regulate non-military drone use. Schumer said federal bureaucracy has slowed down advancing regulations and “we cannot wait for a fatal crash or incident to get this done.”

Schumer said the lack of clear rules governing drones has led to “confusion, abuses and other dangerous situations,” particularly in populated areas and near airports.

Non-military drones are used by hobbyists and have numerous commercial uses, but lack of clear guidelines and enforcement have led to dozens of instances of the unmanned aerial vehicles involved in unsafe practices, according to the senator’s statement.