Obama Releases Rules for Domestic Drone Use

The Federal Aviation Administration finally laid out its proposal for regulating the use of small private drones, regulations that aviation safety experts have called overdue.

Despite calls for such regulations, the FAA had been slow to issue them until a small remote drone crashed into the White House lawn on January 26. The very next day, President Obama called for a plan to be drawn up.

Now that the FAA rules have been finalized and made public, however, the considerably stricter regulations appear more lax than many expected.

The FAA proposal would allow small drones — those weighing up to 55 pounds — to fly during daylight hours as long as they remain below 500 feet in the air and fly slower than 100 mph. They also have to be within eyesight of their remote pilots.

Night flights would be prohibited because the drones would not be visible and “there is no acceptable technological substitute for direct human vision in small UAS operations at this time,” the FAA said. 

Pilots must be at least 17-years-old and will also have to pass an aeronautical knowledge test and a Transportation Security Administration screening. They will also be required register their vehicles. The knowledge test will cost $150 to take and registration will cost $5.

The White House released a statement that drones are useful tools in a number of fields so they did not want to restrict them too much.

Drones "are a potentially transformative technology in diverse fields such as agriculture, law enforcement, coastal security, military training, search and rescue, first responder medical support, critical infrastructure inspection and many others," the statement said. "The administration is committed to promoting the responsible use of this technology, strengthening privacy safeguards and ensuring full protection of civil liberties."

The rules will not go into effect for some time as the FAA has asked for 60 days of public comment and industry experts suggest it could take 18 months or longer before the plan is finalized.

In a separate action, President Obama also signed a presidential memorandum governing how federal agencies will employ drones. In an effort to ensure agencies do not use drones in a way that violates the First Amendment, agencies will now be required to make their policies on the their use available, especially those regarding the collection of information.