A report says FAA risk adversity limits use of drones, SenSat breaks U.K. BVLOS record, Japan set to loosen BVLOS rules, and FCC sends a strong message to drone makers, marketers, and operators.
A study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was mandated by Congress and sponsored by the FAA. It concludes that the FAA views drones the way they view aircraft: under a strong safety culture that is adverse to risk. George Ligler chaired the committee that wrote the report and said, “FAA needs to accelerate its move away from the ‘one size fits all’ philosophy for UAS operations. The FAA’s current methods for safety and risk management certainly ensure safety within the manned aircraft sector, but UASs present new and unique challenges and opportunities, which make it important for the agency to take a broader view on risk analysis.”
The committee wants the FAA to establish and publish guidelines to measure risks in a consistent and reliable manner within 12 months and include considerations of the safety benefits of drone use. The 66-page report is titled: Assessing the Risks of Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System
SenSat broke the beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) record for the U.K. after completing a 7.5-mile (12 kilometers) BVLOS flight with a fixed-wing “Sparrow” drone. SenSat has Pathfinder status from the U.K. government which allows them to fly BVLOS. This record flight utilized multiple communication channels to ensure safety. SenSat uses Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry that uses GPS to combine digital aerial photographs with computer vision to recreate areas in high detail. A live webcast of the event is available as LIVE Webcast: 12km Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight ops.
Commercial drone regulations in Japan require an observer who can keep the drone in sight, thus, BVLOS is not allowed. That is about to change. According to the Japan Times, “A law requiring that a safety assistant be present during long-distance commercial drone operations will be scrapped, according to new rules announced… by the transport and industry ministries.” And “a safety assistant will no longer be required to keep the aircraft in view if flight safety can be fully ensured remotely through devices such as cameras and sensors.” The change is to be implemented by the end of 2018.
